do you like being mugged by an American while on Bebo in the winter sunshine?

thebaz

With the Ryder Cup about to kick off tomorrow , what is your attitude to the USA ?
Do you despise the USA as the creators of Greed ?
Used to like them before Bush took over from Clinton , and became all insular and paranoid ?
Think theyre great , have helped enrich us and create the Celtic Tiger ?

connundrum

A poll ftw!

I like them 53%

Dragan

Personally i think your poll is too extreme.

Some good things about America,

Some of the people
Big cars
Great Pizza's
Have one of the best attitudes toward encouraging sports in schools in the world and then supporting it.
Some great music
UFC

Some bad things about America

Some of the people
Silly about gun laws, if the founding Fathers knew someone would invent the AK-47 the may have reworded the "right to bear arms".
Quite corrupt at many levels
Tom Cruise
American Idol

The President/Ruler/Government of any country is rarely a could indicator of that country as a whole.

Rb

Thats not a great poll tbh.

In general I don't have a problem with the US, the only problem I do have is the attitude or belief that the USA rules the entire planet.
I hate the "War on Terror" and am completely against it, the invasion of Iraq for oil etc. though.
The US has provided our economy with a lot of trade, are a major importer of our products/services and are continously investing in this country which in turn is creating work, more money etc. and you can't dislike them for that.

Kersh

I love New york, the city, its awesome. Individual Americans I have met, I think are fine, but as for their leader, pure Twat.

robinph

What is America though in this poll, is this both North and South American continents that your asking about? You need to be more specific, or are you maybe only about the United States of America the country?

Lust4Life

LOL! OP, I think your poll bit you in the arse!

thebaz

Lust4Life wrote:

LOL! OP, I think your poll bit you in the arse!

Well at least its not sore !

Wertz

Have to agree with rb_ie on his post. About sums it up for me.

Living over there or taking more than a 2 week holiday in the place gives you a different perspective about the nation and the people. Sure, some of them are annoying dicks, but I think every country on the planet has their own fair share of thos.
I enjoy most aspects of US culture...I think almost everyone does.

Their foreign policy and seeming attitude toward the rest of the world does piss me off a lot though, especially the last 5-6 yrs...

projectmayhem

Kersh wrote:

I love New york, the city, its awesome. Individual Americans I have met, I think are fine, but as for their leader, pure Twat.

qft
nyc - best city on earth

Nightwish

Good
The country itself
I find its politics fascinating
some good music

Bad
The current governing administration
Corruption
Ignorance and arrogance of its policies
Right wing religious groups affecting decision making at all levels
Paranoia

Karl Hungus

The poll is terrible, it almost talks of America as a single entity. Are we talking about America as a land-mass or a nation, and why in gods name would one man and his crusade against 'terrer' have any bearing on what one would think of the whole as?

Ruu_Old

rb_ie wrote:

Thats not a great poll tbh.

In general I don't have a problem with the US, the only problem I do have is the attitude or belief that the USA rules the entire planet.
I hate the "War on Terror" and am completely against it, the invasion of Iraq for oil etc. though.
The US has provided our economy with a lot of trade, are a major importer of our products/services and are continously investing in this country which in turn is creating work, more money etc. and you can't dislike them for that.

Agreed, I have been living here for the past year and annoying as some Americans are regarding Irish culture, the majority of them mean no harm to anyone. They are just curious but everyone gives them a hard time (including me at times)
Good things are, things are far cheaper, I feel pretty safe and secure here in the middle of nowhere midwest.
Bad things are the scare mongering, gun laws and corruption (then again Ireland is not much better off regarding that either, its everywhere).

monkey tennis

I'm fairly certain greed was around before the USA was; I don't think they have the patent on it.

As for paranoid, ask any Asian living in London what it was like travelling on public transport (particularly with a backpack) last summer. Mindless paranoia is not confined to the states either.

(Did anyone else have a little giggle at someone on an Irish web forum calling someone else 'insular'?)

thebaz

Karl Hungus wrote:

The poll is terrible, it almost talks of America as a single entity. Are we talking about America as a land-mass or a nation, and why in gods name would one man and his crusade against 'terrer' have any bearing on what one would think of the whole as?

It should be pretty obvious what i mean by America in this instance , but i'll spell it out for you - The United States of America - not South America , Mexico or Canada .
People world over have extreme views on the U.S. , so i just wanted to be get a summary of how people here fealt towards the U.S. , as we head in to the Ryder Cup .
Of course i could have had a large number of options to reflect all the diverse aspect to the U.S. - but i choose not to - .

bonkey

I couldn't give you a straight answer to whether or not I like spinach (its great when done well, and terrible when done badly, and the plant can look either really nice or really grotty), so I have to side with the "not a great question" faction on this.

Celticfire

What are "All things American"? could you clarify?

Karl Hungus

thebaz wrote:

It should be pretty obvious what i mean by America in this instance , but i'll spell it out for you - The United States of America - not South America , Mexico or Canada .

Well DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! :rolleyes:

Fanny Cradock

monkey tennis wrote:

(Did anyone else have a little giggle at someone on an Irish web forum calling someone else 'insular'?)

NO

Most of the current wave of criticism towards America is levelled at the Administration. I refrain from using the term "anti-Amercanism" because I think that's an easy way to deflect the argument away from the real issues and problems (another toipic, though). I don't blame "ordinary Americans" for decisions made by those in power... though, they did vote Bush in twice. There does appear to be vast swaths of America that seem to be populated by people steeped in ignorance. However, Europe, despite what some of us believe, appears to be equally (?) mired in this worldly unawareness.

So many things to love about America: music, art, literature, films, some TV shows (sopranos etc.), generally friendly people, the guilty pleasures of food and the apparent American predilection for excess (which can also be a negative).

Didn’t vote in the poll as the choices were ****e.

Sarky

I'll start liking America when it officially apologises for Everybody Loves Raymond.

scojones

I moved this from AH because:

A) The poll is utter ribbish. Are you asking do we like the American people as a whole, or their government, or their country?

I can see it getting very opinionated very fast and I'm saving users from getting themselves banned.

C) TCN is alot more light hearted than AH and this place will lead to a better 'light-hearted' discussion if that is what the OP is after.

Feel free to send it back my way if you don't think TCN suits it properly. I'll send it to the dome or the bin

Lust4Life

to the dome or bin!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sarky

Apologise for Everybody Loves Raymond!

abetarrush

Neither

Its just there

Its nothin great

Same weather, same prices in general

on the plus, more sun and shops

badness = bombage

bleh

im goin t Tokyo

thebaz

sjones wrote:

I moved this from AH because:

A) The poll is utter ribbish. Are you asking do we like the American people as a whole, or their government, or their country?

I can see it getting very opinionated very fast and I'm saving users from getting themselves banned.

C) TCN is alot more light hearted than AH and this place will lead to a better 'light-hearted' discussion if that is what the OP is after.

Feel free to send it back my way if you don't think TCN suits it properly. I'll send it to the dome or the bin

As its such rubbish -- please bin it !

Tar.Aldarion

I love Raymond.

Lust4Life

doesn't everybody?

DarthWraak

I dont think it belongs here tbh...

We are here for fun, not slagging americans...

Lust4Life

Yeah! What he said!
I get nothing but LOOOOOOOOOVE here in the nest!

Black Swan

USA is very diverse. Each of the 50 states exhibit differences, as do regions (North West, South West, Mid West, South, South East, North East). The nation is a little over 200 years old, and except for a very small Native American population, most citizens are immigrants or decendants of immigrants.

USA is like a stew pot rather than a melting pot. For example, the potatoes in the pot are still potatoes, but they take on the flavor of all the other ingrediants, too. That's why you hear people in the USA call themselves Irish-Americans, or Italian-Americans, or French-Americans, or German-Americans, or Japanese-Americans, and so forth. They are part old culture and part new.

One thing that surprised me about the USA is how vast a nation it is. Do you realise that you can put the whole UK inside California? And California is so diverse. The northern, central, and southern parts are so different culturally, politically, ethinically, racially, economically, etc. So to get back to this poll, to ask the question, "Do you like (California)?" is just too broad, much less to ask the question, "Do you like America?," and give us only three poll choices.

looksee

who's raymond?

DarthWraak

Havent you heard? Everyone loves him apparently...

shane86

Depends. It has produced some of our most important inventions (cars, computers etc), it invented rap music and its companies are largely responsible for our current healthy economy (if it wasnt for American investment, instead of being in my decent finance job id still be working in mcdon......eh no, wait......let me think this over)

Alright, so not all US investment freed Paddy from the Brit slave wages but still, they propped us up.

On the downside......

Alot of them are plain kunts. Mainly the upper class Americans. Jesus, the ****ing prick of a woman my friend went out with until early this year. You know the type, "oh my god you guys, like, drink too much!" pissed on 4 bacardi breezers type of all American my daddy got rich off Iraqi oil stocks girl. In the end she accused me to my friend of trying it on with her, me and my friend nearly got into a fight (in the end, he realised that on the only times we had met we hadnt been in the same room alone at all, so he forgave me and soon after they broke up). Also, in work I feel alot of the errors and avoidable mistakes I have to justify and apologise for to customers were made by the guys in US head office, and you think "If i was there Id do my job properly, so how come these guys earn thrice as much per year as I do?"

Food- my mother is one of these people who loves the USA. Thinks its heaven, she spent a year or two there in her late teens and thought it was the sh1t. Me, Im more cynical. She always goes on- the weather, the money, the food. Sorry mam, but last time I checked, USA weather was an hours flgith away in Ibiza, Ireland was the second richest country in the world and

1- US takeaways are now all over the place, and a Big Mac in feckin Tralee tastes the exact same as one in Miami Beach

2- It is no longer impossible to get truly delicious fresh pizza in Ireland. Show me a pizza joint in New York that beats Pizza Mia in Dunshaughlin (always stop when going through the town, savage stuff) and Ill show you....eh.....me willy

3- Ive been to New York (when I was young mind you, 11 or 12 odd). Its only when you arrive you realise its not all you dreamed of, you cant, say, actually go into the crown of the Statue of Liberty (only her feet). And that was in 1998, Im nearly suprised they let you on the island at all now. And the subways, **** me, no.1 theyre impossible to figure out, no.2 its all machine ioperated, the few staff there dont speak three words of English, and no.3 nobody in NY financial district will stop if you need directions anywhere.

Still, mucho respecto to the real Americans. Not your Cape Cod jocks and prom queens, but the violent, thick headed proud NYC Italians, the laid back 40 drinkin rollin down the street indo gin and juice homeboys, and the old Irish boyos who will buy pints for anyone from Ireland who claims his dad and all his uncles are locked up/dead because they got caught up in the "struggle"

In fairness, move this back to AH and keep it there ffs.

Saskia

Apparently in a recent study 2 million homepages were looked for the 13 - 17 age group and the majority of them could be publicly viewed. Just on the radio news there. Well I hate to say I told you so.

Given the recent events and the fact that cyber stalkers can access information so easy, is it time to close Bebo down?

Big Ears

The majority of children in primary schools are aged between 4-12 , most of them can be viewed publicly , is it time to close primary schools down ? :rolleyes: .

CiaranC

Seriously, someone needs to write a script that scans posts and hands out insta-bans if the word 'bebo' is detected

Rabies

With young kids, it is up to the parents to monitor and control their internet usage.

Bebo is an "oh look at me" website. You put up what you want people to see. The option is there to make the profile private.

At the end of the day, there is only so much control the website can force over it's users. It comes down to the parents at the end of the day.

bluto63

If people are stupid enough to show their address and phone number publicly, that's their problem

Ste.phen

It's almost like the pages are private by default and the kids had to manually specify they want the pages to be viewable by anyone
*almost*

Ste.phen

bluto63 wrote:

If people are stupid enough to show their address and phone number publicly, that's their problem

I gather they changed it so this information isnt public unless you specifically choose individual people that can view it.

doesnt really stop people putting personal info on their blog, in the 'about me' section ,etc though

Savman

bluto63 wrote:

If people are stupid enough to show their address and phone number publicly, that's their problem

By "people" I assume you mean "kids"? Of course, kids know everything...

mountainyman

Igy wrote:

It's almost like the pages are private by default and the kids had to manually specify they want the pages to be viewable by anyone
*almost*

It is almost like children are being manipulated into revealing information to drive traffic to a website that has an estimated market value of $550 million.
It is almost like Michael Birch is happy for children to be raped so long as he gets his money.
*almost*

MM

CiaranC

Savman wrote:

By "people" I assume you mean "kids"? Of course, kids know everything...

kids are people too you know

mountainyman wrote:

It is almost like Michael Birch is happy for children to be raped so long as he gets his money.
*almost*

Its almost like you are a total gob****e
*almost*

Faith

Oh my god, let it go. What good is this thread doing? Do you think that the creators of Bebo are going to read it and think "Wow, why didn't we think of making all the under-18's homepages private? What were we thinking when we gave people a choice? We sure are stupid!"

I'm so fúcking sick of these threads trying to blame Bebo for something that's not their fault, and therefore absolving the actual guilty parties from blame.

Kingsize

Saskia wrote:

Apparently in a recent study 2 million homepages were looked for the 13 - 17 age group and the majority of them could be publicly viewed.
Given the recent events and the fact that cyber stalkers can access information so easy, is it time to close Bebo down?

Thats not including the kids who lie & say they are 18 or over.

Ive noticed a trend arouund town (Dublin) that Internet Cafes seem to have a new clientelle of kids,usually in gangs & all on Bebo.(Theyre never very quiet about it)
Not sure what the parents can do short of following them
Of course if the kids are old enough to go into town unaccompanied they are at risk to all of the sh_t that goes on in the city, but a parent who does their best , lays down the law @ home can still be caught out by this.
Not Bebo's fault ultimately.Parents should be aware of the dangers facing their kids - either real or percieved.(i.e. the tabloid / evening herald view that gangs of perverts are running rampant in the streets trying to ensnare our little kiddies with bebo & alcopops & explicit R&B hits)

mountainyman

OK what about an intelligence test/online safety test.
If you don't pass it you can't have a bebo.

Also so far no one has explained the utility of bebo? So far as keeping in touch goes what is wring with email or having a homepage?

MM

joe_chicken

Savman wrote:

By "people" I assume you mean "kids"? Of course, kids know everything...

They know not to wear t-shirts with their mobile number on it...

They know not to talk to strangers...

Maybe we should ban mobile phones

Parents: if you don't know where your children are or who they are hanging around with, that's YOUR fault. Take an interest. Don't default to ignorance.

biko

Doesn't bebo have it's own forum for these discussions?
I just don't get why you would chat about one forum on another, over and over again...

Dragan

mountainyman wrote:

OK what about an intelligence test/online safety test.
If you don't pass it you can't have a bebo.

Also so far no one has explained the utility of bebo? So far as keeping in touch goes what is wring with email or having a homepage?

MM

You first post was marvelous, it really was!

Now then, clearly the only solution is to lock up all the kids, and keep them wrapped in bubble wrap and fed through tubes until they are 18 and legally responsible for themselves.

Anyone who wants to the blame the platform of communication is an idiot, simple as. You can pretty much trace the argument back to "we should ban the spoken and written word because pedo's might lure kids to dark alleys".

Extreme? Indeed, but everything is baby steps. I will happily sit here and say if parents don't know what there kids are up to then they have failed as a parent. If a parent wants to install a computer in there house they are well aware of what can be accessed on it, and should be closely monitoring what there kids are doing with it.

The simple fact is the girls from the rape story need to accept responsibility for what they did as well. The went off to meet strangers on the internet...whether the guy turns out to be 35 or 15 do these girls really think a guy would want to meet a random girl to have a good chat?

Cop the **** on, stop blaming the platforms and realise people need to accept responsibility for what they allow others to do with tools like this.

Else we might need to shut down boards are post from Mountainy Man will make me go postal.

Kingsize

These Media "outrages" happen all the time they enflame the anger of people who buy Newspapers & never read / or question the Stories.
They Are Slowly pushing an agenda of Total Lockdown & this is all done in the name of the "Common Good"/protecting our way of life, our freedoms, our chilren's future etc etc

We might see a day when they are calling for the banning of Scrabble because of the OFFENSIVE & SUGGESTIVE words that can be created.

bluto63

Why are people singling out Bebo? There are other sites that are very similar to Bebo that nobody seems to care about, they just go for Bebo because it's the biggest.

You can't shut down an entire site with millions of users just because one kid was stupid enough to meet up with someone. If that's the case, you might aswell shut down the whole internet.

Faith wrote:

Oh my god, let it go. What good is this thread doing? Do you think that the creators of Bebo are going to read it and think "Wow, why didn't we think of making all the under-18's homepages private? What were we thinking when we gave people a choice? We sure are stupid!"

In fairness...Every discussion here gets us nowhere...