American Appreciation Thread

Hmm, let me this right, huge areas of populated area have now been evacuated, leaving homes, work place and recreation building empty.

Move the salavage and scrap processing plants in and cycle all the scrap metal, every thing from copper, tin, alloys, iron, steel, recyclable plastics.. on a commercial basis.... immediately halve the clearance times and make a lot of new rich people even richer. Clear the effected areas, move in the Corp of Engineers with agriculturalists and specialist to reclaim the land and replant trees and vegetation to stabilise the layers of top soil.

On acknowledging a catastrophe declare Federal Law and Federal Aid, move 100,000 troops out of Irag and the huge collection of military bases around the world and move them to the areas of emergency. Create large crater, artifical lakes to immediately drain off huge tracts of land to aid recovery.

Oh, give Betchel and the other exploiters of Irag the option of helping other people before themselves.

It would all be cleared in weeks.

You begrudge America so much, you focus only on the bad, and become so small yourselves that it consumes your viewpoints entirely.

That might be true if I had never been there, seen lots of different places and the poor quality of life by some and the stark contrast between rich and poor, I seen the uneployment queue in Washington stretching around two blocks, On a Sunday, the day before it even opens. Seen lots of different places, people and the effects abroad of the American influence.

So please don't preach the American dream to me. I've seen the squalour within a mile of the Washington government office blocks, the need to have Policemen on every corner of New York to squell the street crime, the shooting at Rushington beach in California, the shooting on the street in down town Tampa. The towns around Atticca supported by the prison and refusing to believe the slaughter that occured there because of the possibility of the prison closing.

The stark difference between Boeing satelite towns and the ' white' towns literally miles apart.. between poverty and affluence. the discrimination around US military towns ...,

Get off the high ways and look around.. and ..

The land grabs by Disney in Florida when the land lots were offered for sale, queues were turned away because Disney had done back door deals to buy ownership of plots around their property...

I spoken to counsellors in Palm Beach California about the high suicide rate amongst failing youngster because of the society's demand for success. Who firmly believe that drug dealers are assisted by the authorities because of the money involved.

Could go on with more but hey, who really cares?

Take off the rose tinted spectacles and look around your own country.

Then get out and visit countries whose hospitality puts Americans to shame.

How long have you suffered from self delusion?

There are none so blind as those who do not wish to see.

Been in States,Canada, covered most of Europe, from Sweden, to Spain, China and the far east... toured Military bases US, Brit, German and Others, flown out of Military bases and seen lots and speak from experience..

Of course this is a thread started by someone who had a two week holiday in the sates and everyone, mostly Americans have jumped on board to tell every one how good it is...

You blandly make comparisons with Europe, to which I can only comment, from ignorance and extoll the virtues of the USA..

Typical Septic tank.

twinytwo wrote: »

No i mean war in a general term.. ie Vietnam/ First and Second Gulf War etc

Saddam started the first Gulf War.

I went to Chicago for summer and absolutely loved it. Girls, in particular are much friendler if you just start talking to them.:D

Plus so many great films (and bad ones) have come from there. Some great music (they invented the blues and early rock n' roll) - I can't imagine my cultural interests without American influence.

Also the way streets are laid out, public transport, etc are great. In general they are very organised and efficent.

Like every government in the world, they have their drawbacks, of course America seems to be greater because they have so much power.

What I don't understand is nobody hates Iraqis because of Saddam, nobody hates Germans coz of Hitler, nobody hates Equatorial Guineas because of Obiang, yet lots of people hate America because of Bush.

There are none so blind as those who do not wish to see

Most of Europe - Sweden to Spain

And everything in between ...

Perhaps you should look at the map of Europe, that covers virtually all of Europe.,

You lack the understanding of the most simple phrases, I will try in future to make it even more simple. Then you will be able to understand and , hopefully, comprehend.

American soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a military report.

As of yesterday, Thursday 5th March, terminally ill patients in Washington State can invoke a new assisted suicide law called the Death with Dignity Act which allows them to ask for a lethal prescription from their doctor if they have less than six months to live.

Washington's new law is based on a similar one introduced in Oregon ten years ago, where last year 60 patients made use of it. That is the highest number in a year since the law came into force in 1997, reports the NWPR news service of Washington State University.

Since then around 400 Oregon residents have used it to end their lives reports the Seattle Times who also said that Washington's new law was approved in last November's election and carried a nearly 60 per cent "yes" vote.

Like the Oregon act, Washington's new law requires that any patient asking for a lethal prescription must be a resident of the state, be at least 18 years old, declared mentally competent to make the request, and two doctors have to certify that he or she has six months or less to live, reported the Seattle Times.

The patient's request must be put into writing and witnessed by two people, and they must also make two oral requests 15 days apart, the so-called "15 day waiting period".

A representative of Compassion & Choices, the largest aid-in-dying advocacy group in Washington State told NWPR that the names of patients asking for assistance with dying will not be made public, but there will be a need to report such requests. Terry Barnett said:

"The initiative strikes a balance between patient's rights to privacy and the public's interest in information about how the process works."

Groups who support the initiative say that the new law gives people another option and helps them to feel in control of the dying process and thereby preserves their dignity.

Groups who are against the initiative say that the reporting requirements aren't strong enough and there should be stricter safeguards to make sure patients are offered enough end of life options, including pain management, reported NWPR.

Eileen Geller, a spokesperson for True Compassion Advocates, a group that is against the new law, told the Seattle Times that it:

"Puts at risk far too many people for the far too few who would actually have choice."

"One person's autonomy is another person's coercion," said Geller, adding that the message the patient actually receives once the idea of assisted suicide is raised is that they should do it because they are a burden.

Geller, who is a hospice nurse, said that last year as her father in law was dying, a healthcare professional raised the idea of assisted suicide and this led him to feel like he should take up the option in order to stop being a burden to his family.

This was not the view of Barbara McKay of Kirkland, who said she will use the new law. McKay is terminally ill with advanced ovarian cancer and has already made a written request to her doctors declaring her wish to have lethal medication. She told a news conference on Thursday that she will be talking to her doctors about her other end of life options, reported the Seattle Times.

60-year old McKay said she watched both her parents suffer with few choices at the end of their lives. At the news conference sponsored by Compassion & Choices she told reporters that when her time comes she wants to be able to choose her own time and way to die:

"I don't want my family to have to watch me wither away as can happen with cancer."

Dozens of people stood outside University of Washington School of Medicine yesterday to protest against the new law. Some health systems have chosen not to take part while others have. Those against the new law are concerned that many terminally ill people who are depressed may not get the help they really need and the law will facilitate unnecessary deaths.

Not to be overlooked in all this is the need for health professionals to have fine tuned people skills to balance their medical expertise.

Helping patients to review options about how to spend their dying weeks and whether to terminate their lives deliberately or naturally places a considerable load on the health professional's emotional wellbeing and they may need as much psychological support in this process as their patients.

Aspen/Pitkin Public Safety Council members applauded the news Wednesday that a three-person team from the University of Colorado Depression Center was in Aspen this week to find out how the community can do a better job of preventing suicide.

Pitkin County’s suicide rate is three times the national average and twice the state average, said Dr. Michael Allen, associate professor and director of research at the Depression Center, which is based at CU Denver.

The members of the safety council, which includes representatives from law enforcement, fire, ambulance, health, transportation and other sectors, were told that the rural Rocky Mountain West has high suicide rates in part because of the region’s isolation and limited access to mental health care, and because of the “lethality” factor in the West.

“Most people who kill themselves here don’t practice,” Allen told the public safety council. “They kill themselves on the first try.”

Local first responders — police, fire, medical personnel — have a keen interest in preventing suicide, both because they are involved with its immediate aftermath and because nationally there is a high suicide rate among first responders themselves.

Allen said that was both because of the type of people first responders tend to be, and because of what they encounter on the job. He said “stress debriefings” can help, but it is also important to train first responders to talk to each other about their feelings. And that’s not always easy for people who carry firearms, venture into burning buildings or rush to accident scenes.

Allen described how the Depression Center staff would be interviewing the heads of local agencies, primary care physicians and other community members to find out what local agencies here need to improve their suicide prevention efforts.

The $75,000 needs assessment the group will be conducting is being sponsored by Aspen Valley Medical Foundation.

Kris Marsh, the foundation’s director, said an Aspen resident helped fund the effort after asking what he could do to help the community after a friend here committed suicide.

“I think it is a significant problem,” Marsh said, noting there were 17 local suicides in 2004. “Even if we save one life it will be worth it.”

“I think we can do better than that,” responded Allen, adding that, “It is going to take a sustained effort over a period of time. Will we get the suicide rate to zero? Probably not. Can we get it down to the national average? That would be great.”

After the Aspen area needs assessment is completed, Allen said specific training programs can begin. Those programs can range from a two-hour Internet-based course, to a two-day seminar for first responders, to a community-wide awareness program.

“It is all about having sufficient numbers of people around who have their antennae up,” Allen said.

Communication and awareness was a recurring theme of Allen’s presentation.

“People who are thinking about killing themselves don’t announce their intentions,” he said.

Suicide hotlines can be helpful.

“People will talk to a stranger about things they won’t talk to a family member about,” he said.

Another prevention tool is “QPR,” which stands for “Question, Persuade and Refer,” the “three steps that anyone can learn to help prevent suicide,” according to the QPR Institute’s Web site. “Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives.”

Still another helpful approach is for people to realize that depression leads to suicide and that depression is a disease that deserves treatment.

“You wouldn’t tell someone with diabetes to ‘pull yourself out of it’ or ‘man up,’” said Matt Vogl, the community programs manager for the Depression Center.


1. Currently there are slightly more than 30,000 suicides annually (83 suicides per day; or 1 suicide every 17 minutes), with 12 of every 100,000 Americans killing themselves.
2. Suicide rates in the U.S.A. can best be characterized as mostly stable over time with a slight tendency toward an increase.
3. Rates of suicide are highest in the western regions with the Mountain States highest.
4.

Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death.

5. Males complete suicide at a rate four times that of females.
6. Firearms are currently the most often utilized method of suicide by essentially all groups (males, females, young, old, white, and non-white).
7.

Suicide rates have traditionally decreased in times of war and increased in times of economic crisis.

8. Suicide rates are highest among the divorced, separated, and widowed and lowest among the
married.
9. Rates of suicide are highest among the elderly (age 65 and over).
10. Elderly adults have rates of suicide of more than 50% higher than that of the nation as a whole.
11. Youth (ages 15-24) suicide rates increased more than 200% from the 1950s to the late 1970s. Since the late 1970s, suicide rates for youth have remained stable or slightly decreased.
12. Suicide ranks third as a cause of death among young (15-24) Americans, behind accidents and homicide.
13. White suicide rates are approximately twice those of non-whites.
14. Native Americans (American Indians) are the racial/ethnic group with the highest overall suicide rate, but tribal differences exist.
15. Blacks and Hispanics, when ranked among worldwide statistics and reporting, exhibit lower risk of suicides.
16. Psychological autopsy studies reflect that more than 90% of completed suicides had one or more mental disorders.

Reference: American Association of Suicidology, "Some Facts About Suicide in the U.S.A."2001.

Any time you want any ifo on Iraq.. let me know.. about the American companies refusing to employ local labour and importing anyone other than Iraqi.

The offices of US oil companies 'shot up' and the 'new' employees told not to talk about it.. with anyone, relatives, friends etc.... The private security people tha cannot be charged with murder .. ..... sounds just like America.

BAGHDAD, Sept. 22 — The Iraqi government said Saturday that it expects to refer criminal charges to its courts within days in connection with a shooting here by a private American security company, and the Interior Ministry gave new details of six other episodes it is investigating involving the company.

The state minister for national security affairs, Shirwan al-Waili, said the government had received little information from the American side in the early days of a joint investigation of the shooting, which involved the company Blackwater USA and left at least eight Iraqis dead. But he said that the Iraqi investigation was largely completed and that he believed the findings were definitive. “The shots fired on the Iraqis were unjustifiable,” he said. “It was harsh and horrible.”

Although Mr. Waili did not spell out what the investigative committee would recommend to the criminal court, a preliminary report of findings by the Interior Ministry, the National Security Ministry and the Defense Ministry stated that “the murder of citizens in cold blood in the Nisour area by Blackwater is considered a terrorist action against civilians just like any other terrorist operation.”

“The criminals will be referred to the Iraqi court system,” it said.

The spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf, also laid out previous episodes involving Blackwater this year in which he said a total of 10 Iraqis had been killed and 15 wounded. The company would not comment on those incidents on Saturday.

The details came as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was at the United Nations to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other officials to discuss Iraqi security and other issues. The Iraqi government has already demanded that Blackwater, which handles security for diplomatic personnel, be banned from working in Iraq, and the broadening investigation is sure to pull the Iraqis and their American supporters even further apart.

Blackwater may also face investigation on another front: The News and Observer newspaper in Raleigh, N.C., reported that United States federal investigators were looking into whether the company shipped unlicensed automatic weapons and military goods to Iraq. The Department of Justice would not confirm whether an investigation was under way; Blackwater, in a statement issued Saturday, said it had not done anything wrong.

The main shooting under investigation began near midday last Sunday when Blackwater guards fired at Iraqi civilians for reasons that neither the company nor the United States government, which is also investigating, have fully explained.

Some witnesses have said Iraqi soldiers nearby also began firing at some point, greatly complicating efforts to understand what happened and raising the question, at least among American officials, of whether the Blackwater guards believed they were under attack and acted properly.

Blackwater, in its only statement on the shooting, has said its employees were responding to an ambush.

Oblomov wrote: »

Any time you want any ifo on Iraq.. let me know.. about the American companies refusing to employ local labour and importing anyone other than Iraqi.

NTM would probably eat you alive for this, but isnt there a very good reason for that? We arent the only ones being "racial" (thats what it is, get over yourself) and frankly, how does an american company know the guy they are hiring on wouldn't be an insurgent and/or sabotage their work and destroy their business? No, theres a very valid reason for this. We didn't exactly hire too many Germans Japanese or Russians during WWII either. Sue us.

The offices of US oil companies 'shot up' and the 'new' employees told not to talk about it.. with anyone, relatives, friends etc.... The private security people tha cannot be charged with murder .. ..... sounds just like America.

Could you clarify this? Im going to assume you're talking about Blackwater, which is a hot topic in American Politics - not something be passed over.

BAGHDAD, Sept. 22 — Blablabiddityboppityboo

Figured, without reading the article, you were on about Blackwater. Old news, and dealt with as far as I am aware, though I am sure NTM knows a lot more about it than I do.

but if you want to delve into the Politics side of this Appreciation Thread please head over to US Politics where we will gladly accomodate you. I figure if I can put up with Poconoe Joe you cant do much harm

Oblomov, if you post in this thread again, I will ban you.

Once again; Do no post in this thread again.

Good thread.

I would like to add that the ones I met came across as very friendly, mannerly, respectful, inquisitive about what was happening in my country, rightfully proud of their own country. They are open and like to talk. They appreciate any kindness you show in turn to them. They work hard. They are positive. Things CAN be done. They have provided fantastic inventions to the rest of the world.

I just despair at how we in Ireland imitate the dumb aspect of the American approach through, for example, the MTV culture. But we ignore all the smarter things we could import.

I sit corrected. I just meant you would end up dressing down his entire argument with first-hand ownage.

Anywho I'm getting all jazzed up to get my license thursday and don't know where to go first - not that I should be road-tripping with a fresh license, it seems foolish. But its exciting thinking about how many different places I could wind up just driving. California? Alaska? Back to Seattle? DC? New York?

Actually it was my cousin who just came through here last month: He had saved up a little cash and we were his first stop on his way to a massive road-trip for the hell of it. Went down to costa rica or near those parts. Its put bad ideas in my head

Overheal wrote: »

(!)

How did this never occur to me. Somebody get on that - you could make a small fortune by starting up a Dunkin' Donuts franchise.

I think that Krispie Kreme would do better, but either would be an improvement over what they have here.

Mmmhmm bottomless beverages. Though to be fair the abuse of that at fast food places leads to high rates of diabeetus