The USA, what do you think?

bobblepuzzle

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there... we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in) When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

jennyoo

Thats where Elvis lives

pornhub

jennyoo wrote: »

Thats where Elvis lives

so does the queen

Red Hand

They don't have Jackie Healy Rae.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRTNTRBYLVjLNppTg0W1jejD-5AxvQ-rt2Tw5CJxy1qEy5_UCPNxQ

yamadeejit

pornhub wrote: »

so does the queen

Lol at your username :pac:

Sonics2k

jennyoo wrote: »

Thats where Elvis lived

Fixed


/ontopic
As someone who has been to the U.S. numerous times, dozens of American friends from across the country, I quite like it.

Many things wrong with the place of course, but I found that mostly Americans are quite friendly, the Government isn't any worse than others and overall a nice place to live, despite various fear-monger's and claims of insane levels of crime.

Hail 2 Da Thief

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there

Erm, OK

Such as?

m@cc@

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there... we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in) When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

Do you care to elaborate? That's as about as a banal as you could make a statement.

Dartz

If you think politicians are bad here..... look to the America's for true mastery of the art of blackwhite.

The only thing America does well is petrol prices.

Quick frankly, I wouldn't want to live there. there are things about the place that I know I would find absolutely maddening, from the overpreponderance of sponsership...2 ad breaks per Simpsons episode... US Republicans (I have met exactly 1 who was able to state his political views in a sane manner) and a political system that rewards taking the most extreme views and tends towards a mass polarisation.

The medication of kids for ADD. I know I'dve been one of those... and given my temperement and nature... I know I'dve been the subject of a Micheal Moore film if I'd gone to a US High School.

RussellTuring

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there... we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in) When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

You and everyone else who voted "them" in must be so proud. Maybe you should all go over to that other poor excuse for a republic and let the rest of us try to make something of this one.

P.S. Using a third person pronoun without assigning it to anyone? Very bad form. The Grammar Police won't be happy.

southsiderosie

Where in the US have YOU been? I'm from Illinois, and our politicians make Ireland's look like choirboys.

brummytom

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there... we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in) When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

In what ways?

bobblepuzzle

RussellTuring wrote: »

You and everyone else who voted "them" in must be so proud. Maybe you should all go over to that other poor excuse for a republic and let the rest of us try to make something of this one.

P.S. Using a third person pronoun without assigning it to anyone? Very bad form. The Grammar Police won't be happy.

The majority of the Irish people willingly voted a bunch of corrupt, incompetant arseholes into power, defend this republic, this young country that fails it's own citizens time and time again... failed state in my opinion

Abi

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there... we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in) When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

/ejects out of thread

brummytom

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

The majority of the Irish people willingly voted a bunch of corrupt, incompetant arseholes into power, defend this republic, this young country that fails it's own citizens time and time again... failed state in my opinion

In what ways in America superior? The country that voted in George W Bush once twice once twice.

bobblepuzzle

brummytom wrote: »

In what ways in America superior? The country that voted in George W Bush once twice once twice.

TBH, they are a lot better off than even you in the UK... yeh, takes a series of gob****es to make a superpower :rolleyes: GWB, was a mistake, and most Americans agree with that... can't win them all

USA A-OK

RussellTuring

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

The majority of the Irish people willingly voted a bunch of corrupt, incompetant arseholes into power, defend this republic, this young country that fails it's own citizens time and time again... failed state in my opinion

The majority? I think far fewer than half the number of people in Ireland voted for Fianna Fáil last election.

dizzywizlw

Things the Irish are terrible at:

Government: Yeah, the US government is more efficient and less corrupt that us
Economics: Their entire economy is propped up by various factors unrelated to their economic ability.They've borrowed and spent as recklessly as us, they are literally too big to fail
Societal Development: USA having a more developed and harmonious society than Ireland without racial and class tension? :pac:
Education: America is worse at that for sure, discounting third level
Healthcare: HSE or US system? hmm HSE lesser of two evils no?


I'm failing to grasp the big picture here, maybe it's because I don't get the fascination with American culture. Probably because the US is a ****hole.

rossie1977

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

The majority of the Irish people willingly voted a bunch of corrupt, incompetant arseholes into power, defend this republic, this young country that fails it's own citizens time and time again... failed state in my opinion

wait just a second the usa gave two terms to george w, dick cheney is a billionaire thanks to his "dealings" in iraq, ronnie reagan secretly sold arms to iran and then let ollie north take all the blame, the us people voted in ricky nixon and he was the most non-corrupt politician in history

Sea Devils

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

The majority of the Irish people willingly voted a bunch of corrupt, incompetant arseholes into power, defend this republic, this young country that fails it's own citizens time and time again... failed state in my opinion

Arnold Schwarzenegger was once the governor of California.

It works both ways.

bobblepuzzle

dizzywizlw wrote: »

Things the Irish are terrible at:

Government: Yeah, the US government is more efficient and less corrupt that us
Economics: Their entire economy is propped up by various factors unrelated to their economic ability.They've borrowed and spent as recklessly as us, they are literally too big to fail
Societal Development: USA having a more developed and harmonious society than Ireland without racial and class tension? :pac:
Education: America is worse at that for sure, discounting third level
Healthcare: HSE or US system? hmm HSE lesser of two evils no?


I'm failing to grasp the big picture here, maybe it's because I don't get the fascination with American culture. Probably because the US is a ****hole.

Did you ever think that providing foodstamps to people instaed of cold cash might cut our taxes in half, if not more... think about it :pac:

Dudess

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there...

Like what? I don't like America-bashing as there is plenty that's great about that country, but it is a very unequal society - forget healthcare/education if you're below a certain income bracket. Some areas are afflicted by appalling poverty, e.g. the rural south. Crazed evangelical christianity keeps that status quo going. And nut-jobs like The Tea Party. And its foreign policy can stink.

we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in)

Um... I didn't.

When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

When are YOU going to take responsibility? Don't blame others for your choice of voting FF/being irresponsible with money you didn't have...

brummytom

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

TBH, they are a lot better off than even you in the UK... yeh, takes a series of gob****es to make a superpower :rolleyes: GWB, was a mistake, and most Americans agree with that... can't win them all

In what ways are they better off? Believe me, I hate our incumbent Government with a passion, but I still don't see any justification for why you think the USA is so superior to the Ireland.


Look at Obama now. Just 18 months ago, he was a hero, almost messianic. Now, he's incredibly unpopular because he believes in equality in healthcare. Americans, on the whole, are fucking idiots. (No offence to our few friends from across the water on here, you're the exceptions ).

They're a superpower due to two reasons I'd say: geography (like the sheer size of the country), and brute power. Ireland doesn't have either of these, why is that such a bad thing?

dizzywizlw

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

TBH, they are a lot better off than even you in the UK... yeh, takes a series of gob****es to make a superpower :rolleyes: GWB, was a mistake, and most Americans agree with that... can't win them all

It takes the largest natural defences in the history of geopolitics to create a superpower (pacific and Atlantic oceans).

Irish,English,Poles,Germans etc. 'made' America a superpower.

pragmatic1

Its still the greatest country in the world and will be for quite some time to come.

dizzywizlw

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

Did you ever think that providing foodstamps to people instaed of cold cash might cut our taxes in half, if not more... think about it :pac:

My word, you're right...my points are thus invalid

dizzywizlw

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Its still the greatest country in the world and will be for quite some time to come.

Greatness and Geopolitical power are not the same thing.


Although in Military terms I agree completely.

Daegerty

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

As a guy who has visited the States numerous times, and will continue to do so I think about every single thing thats wrong with our country is right over there... we've made an absolute mockery of the Irish Republic (I say we, because we voted them in) When in gods name are the Irish going to take responsibility!

The government is also up to it's eyes in debt. Bush did something similar to what Fianna did here and Obama sees no way out. That and the woeful private health service, the corruption so rampant that they don't bother trying to hide it, huge amounts of poverty even though image is a huge thing there and people do their best to cover it up.

As for technology they are stuck in a different era; the US were very technologically advanced from the 50's until about the 90's when they outsourced it all. They were pioneers when it came to computers, space travel and what have you.
Now all they have left is a couple of fatcats creaming off the earnings from their outsourced business while rambling on about trickle down economics which doesn't work. Even the brains behind the tech are leaving for such happening places as India, Eastern Europe and China. All their cars and houses and their whole way of life is based on a time when you'd strike oil putting up a picket fence

OP: I don't know where in the States you go to but it's certainly not what I've seen.

bobblepuzzle

x

Sonics2k

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Its still the greatest country in the world and will be for quite some time to come.

Please tell me you mean Ireland and not the United States.

For crying out loud they had to drop Geography from the curriculum because students couldn't find Canada on a freaking map. The same country who's main news network (Fox News) couldn't place Egypt on a map, or Iraq, or Iran, or Saudi Arabia.

doomed

Which America? That Woody Allen, Jazz club, San Francisco, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Broadway, HBO, Harvard, right to free speech, apple, Homer Simpson and Noam Chomsky one or the Bible Belt, dumbass, gimmie my gun (why is a right so clearly intended for the 1700s still enshrined?), racist Fox News version. Obama or Palin?

Daegerty

dizzywizlw wrote: »

Government: Yeah, the US government is more efficient and less corrupt that us

I hope to God himself that you are taking the piss here. Just because the corruption and bribery are done in the open and accepted as routine there...

Sea Devils

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Its still the greatest country in the world and will be for quite some time to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWS-FoXbjVI

dizzywizlw

Daegerty wrote: »

I hope to God himself that you are taking the piss here. Just because the corruption and bribery are done in the open and accepted as routine there...

Of course I'm taking the piss, the 'birthplace' of modern democracy is an utter sham.

man.about.town

i agree with the OP on this one. we always try and say the irish are very welcoming, this for one is bull****, i have found nearly all americans ever so polite, friendly and welcoming, nearly to a fault.

its the worlds strongest economy for a reason. its great, it doesnt have a crippling benefit system that in our lovely country is so very flawed.

its not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than ireland. people can go on about guns and violence but atleast in america, the criminal isnt on a pedestal like over here. up until last year, we couldnt even protect our own home from burglars without becoming the criminal ourselves.

America has also given us internet, global domination of english, affordable computers, gps, etc.. lets not forget they saved all of us (europe) in both world wars. NASA etc..

thats only a few points, now lets watch you all tear my opinion apart. either way, america is the global super power and has given the world a hell of alot more than ireland can ever offer.

also why is everyone so anti usa, 40 million americans claim to be irish american. why cant we support them, there our biggest supporters, we should be theres... simples

HoneyRyder

I think this whole argument is futile because given that Ireland and America are so fundamentally different across the board, it's never going to be a legitimate comparison to begin with.

bobblepuzzle

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Its still the greatest country in the world and will be for quite some time to come.

And if that is threathened... do you think they'll retaliate? I think so

Kinetic^

Team America, Fuck Yeah!

Red Hand

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

And if that is threathened... do you think they'll retaliate? I think so

I think so too, Bob.

IvySlayer

Hmmm our politicians bankrupted the country while America used 9/11 to murder hundreds of thousands of people.

Can't think which is better

Holidays and pay in America is a lot worse than in Ireland. Health is better in Ireland. I like America. The people are cool, the country is beautiful, hate the government.

IvySlayer

bobblepuzzle wrote: »

And if that is threathened... do you think they'll retaliate? I think so

What and 'win' another 'war'like they did in Vietnam? Iraq?

Or will they just take the credit of winning World War 2 off Russia again?

pragmatic1

Sonics2k wrote: »

Please tell me you mean Ireland and not the United States.

For crying out loud they had to drop Geography from the curriculum because students couldn't find Canada on a freaking map. The same country who's main news network (Fox News) couldn't place Egypt on a map, or Iraq, or Iran, or Saudi Arabia.

Still producing the lions share of innovation in practically everything. Best universities in the world. It'll be a long time before another country comes close.

dizzywizlw

man.about.town wrote: »

i agree with the OP on this one. we always try and say the irish are very welcoming, this for one is bull****, i have found nearly all americans ever so polite, friendly and welcoming, nearly to a fault.

its the worlds strongest economy for a reason. its great, it doesnt have a crippling benefit system that in our lovely country is so very flawed.

its not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than ireland. people can go on about guns and violence but atleast in america, the criminal isnt on a pedestal like over her. up until last year, we couldnt even protect our own home from burglars without becoming the criminal ourselves.

America has also given us the internet, global domination of english, affordable computers, gps, etc.. lets not forget they saved all of us (europe) in both world wars. NASA

thats only a few points, now lets watch you all tear my opinion apart. either way, america is the global super power and has given the world a hell of alot more than ireland can ever offer.

also why is every so anti usa, 40 million americans claim to be irish american. why cant we support them, there our biggest supporters, we should be theres... simples

Your first point: Tourists think we're friendly, You as a Tourist thinks Americans are friendly, see the connection?

Technically the EU common market is the strongest economy in the world, but I digress. Their economy is Great due to 50% hardwork and 50% oppourtunism

Your crime point is nonsense.

The English gave us the global dominance of english

If you love the people, etc. that's fine and you're welcome to think America is tops but don't base it on suspect claims

bobblepuzzle

RussellTuring wrote: »

The majority? I think far fewer than half the number of people in Ireland voted for Fianna Fáil last election.

Oh yeah, the Greens made up the number... all ****ing 5 TD's, who the fook gave them a mandate to be in government????????????????????

Daegerty

IvySlayer wrote: »

Holidays and pay in America is a lot worse than in Ireland. Health is better in Ireland.

Eh? they're still struggling to grasp the concept of an employee having rights. They are against slavery but wage slavery is perfectly acceptable

bobblepuzzle

IvySlayer wrote: »

Hmmm our politicians bankrupted the country while America used 9/11 to murder hundreds of thousands of people.

Can't think which is better

Holidays and pay in America is a lot worse than in Ireland. Health is better in Ireland. I like America. The people are cool, the country is beautiful, hate the government.

It depends what you mean, Afghanistan was right, maybe Iraq was wrong

man.about.town

IvySlayer wrote: »

Hmmm our politicians bankrupted the country while America used 9/11 to murder hundreds of thousands of people.

Can't think which is better

Holidays and pay in America is a lot worse than in Ireland. Health is better in Ireland.

hmmm your right, america should of just let terrorist countries away with the murder of 3000 of there citizens in a cowardly attack. lets not forget the millions of people liberated in Iraq and Afghanistan. theres good and bad in every situation hippy

Dudess

man.about.town wrote: »

its the worlds strongest economy for a reason. its great, it doesnt have a crippling benefit system that in our lovely country is so very flawed.

Instead it has crippling social inequality because of the "Take responsibility for yourself" ethos, which is wonderful in theory, but it's not too easy for one to take responsibility for oneself without an education (only for middle-class people in America) and without public funding for productive initiatives like community projects.
The recession has hit America too btw - its great economy isn't immune.

its not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than ireland. people can go on about guns and violence but atleast in america, the criminal isnt on a pedestal like over here.

The criminal is not on a pedestal over here - Irish prisons are considered appalling. I'm sure you're delighted but that negates what you say.
It's not as if being tough on crime has significantly reduced crime rates over there either.
How is it a hell of a lot better than Ireland? It has its good and bad points, Ireland has its good and bad points - both places are, generally speaking, decent enough places to live.

america is the global super power and has given the world a hell of alot more than ireland can ever offer.

Way smaller country so yeah, that would be right.

also why is everyone so anti usa

"Everyone" isn't.

dizzywizlw

man.about.town wrote: »

hmmm your right, america should of just let terrorist countries away with the murder of 3000 of there citizens in a cowardly attack. lets not forget the millions of people liberated in Iraq and Afghanistan. theres good and bad in every situation hippy

Let's no forget that America created the Islamist threat through funding directly and indirectly through the ISI.


America did not cause 9/11 but it 100% created the conditions for attacks like it to happen.

Liberated? :pac:

Dudess

man.about.town wrote: »

hmmm your right, america should of just let terrorist countries away with the murder of 3000 of there citizens in a cowardly attack.

"Terrorist countries"?

Using "hippy" in a derogatory fashion about someone who puts a bit of thought into things is great btw... just great.