Vladimir Putin checkmates the West

Rob Henderson said:
I got news for ya. Honda was the only automotive (not just American made) company to post a profit last quarter. It's not JUST American made. It's EVERYONE. Anything else?
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I already knew that, and besides, I'm not talking about the last quarter. I'm talking about the last 30 years. They were so far ahead in the 1950s and 60s that they didn't devellop any new technology. Then, when the small car era came they were caught napping and they paid for it dearly. 2 filed for bankruptcy, 1 went under, and it all came from sitting on a lead.

I see nothing wrong with improving the lives of those in other countries. But let's not put their priorities over ours.
 
Del Boy said:
Another case of throwing mud when faced with an opposing view-point, I'm sad to see.

I was kind enough to point out that your judgement is not that of Solomon, and that another opinion, (happens to be mine in this case), is just as relevant as yours, and should not be insulted with charges of 'currying favour and massaging egos'. Just cut the dodgy innuendo and be happy to stand on the merits of your own case. The next time I attempt to 'curry favour' will be the first ; and that is why I am 'detested around the world.' That's OK.

The Gospel according to you - You have the monopoly on honesty, your opinion is superior; on the other hand, my opinion is irrelevant with a hidden agenda.

Do me a favour old chap. Stop continually relying upon insult to make your points. That don't suit a straight talker.

Gone fishing.
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I'm sorry if I have offended your sensibilities DelBoy, but you did specifically ask for the unvarnished truth. Being a man of my word I will do my very best to give it to you. However I would have expected that someone having asked for the truth, not to resent it when given.

I too am a great admirer of the US , but that does not restrict me from seeing fault in their attitudes, just as it does not with Australian attitudes. However my admiration however stops short of "P!ssing in their pockets". I'm sure that the American members of this forum are fully aware of my respect for their country and people, without that.

I respect and admire them, not fawn all over them.
 
Germany stands with US

German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed support for Georgia's territorial integrity and called Russian actions in Georgia disproportionate. She spoke after talks in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who expressed doubt that residents of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will ever accept being part of Georgia
 
Germany seems completely terrified. They really don't want to make either side angry so they are keeping as low a profile as possible.

And seno, I think you show full respect and admiration for America.

You just don't feel the need to worship it.
 
The Other Guy said:
And seno, I think you show full respect and admiration for America.

You just don't feel the need to worship it.
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Precisely! I see that type of fawning admiration as extremely belittling to both parties.

On the matter of south Ossetia, I am very hesitant to pass an opinion, as I do not know anything of the history of the area. Many of these places originated as Principalities and Duchys centuries ago, some were associated with their neighbours some were not. Since that time various other groups have assimilated them into other groups which were perhaps nothing to do with the old or the present day people living there. It seems to me thatonce a country starts dividing along religious and political divisions the end of any sort of peace is not far away.

I'm still working on the Yugoslavian question:lol:. The whole country is only postage stamp sized but to me it seems there are dozens of tiny groups who all want autonomy. I often wonder what would happen if they were all allowed to go on their own separate ways. Would these places have an economy that could support their people? I'm sure half of them would end up as economic basket cases.
 
The Other Guy said:
I already knew that, and besides, I'm not talking about the last quarter. I'm talking about the last 30 years. They were so far ahead in the 1950s and 60s that they didn't devellop any new technology. Then, when the small car era came they were caught napping and they paid for it dearly. 2 filed for bankruptcy, 1 went under, and it all came from sitting on a lead.

I see nothing wrong with improving the lives of those in other countries. But let's not put their priorities over ours.
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I guess you missed my earlier post... The whole thing about how sitting on a lead didn't mean stop playing, it meant slowing down the pace of the game. It didn't mean let the other team win. I never said we should worry more about other countries problems MORE than the US, but quite frankly, the unemployment rate here is amazing compared to Iraq, the equality level is so high it's unheard of here compared to Iraq, the poverty line here is extremely high compared to Iraq. I can go on, if needed.
 
Rob Henderson said:
I guess you missed my earlier post... The whole thing about how sitting on a lead didn't mean stop playing, it meant slowing down the pace of the game. It didn't mean let the other team win. I never said we should worry more about other countries problems MORE than the US, but quite frankly, the unemployment rate here is amazing compared to Iraq, the equality level is so high it's unheard of here compared to Iraq, the poverty line here is extremely high compared to Iraq. I can go on, if needed.
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I'm going to be downright rude here, but I don't care what some guy with a goat in Basra thinks!

I want advancement in the US first. FIRST. Then, once we solve then problems here, THEN we worry about everyone else. I'm tired of the "At least it's not Iraq" attitude. I know it's better than Iraq, because Iraq has been run by a dictator for 20 years and has been run by a puppet government for the last 5! We're comparing apples and oranges. I'd better hope we're better than Iraq. It's comparable countries in Europe I'd be more worried about equaling or being better than. As sh*tty as most american cars were, they're still better than the Indian Paykan.

All I know is that Gasoline is $2 more per gallon than it was a year ago, it's cheaper to buy a car here than it is in Canada-- for Canadians, and the subprime mortgage crisis is causing everyone to lose their shirt! Call me a pig, call me what you want, but I want my problems fixed before I fix someone else's problems. As the airline oxygen masks say, "Affix your oxygen mask before helping your child affix their mask." Solve your problems before solving the rest of the world's.
 
THERE WE ARE! The truth comes out. Thank you for not beating around the bush anymore, as now we can address the real issue. Selfishness. We'll never win this fight because you're selfish and quite frankly, I'm not. I actually give a damn about the rest of the world. My views push me towards humanitarianism and caring. Your views push you towards greed and gluttony. We will never push the other side, so we may as well drop this whole argument right now.


And you STILL don't get what I'm saying... I never said to completely ignore the United States' problems. I just said we could help the rest of the world a little bit.

Mod note: An infraction has been issued for violation of General Forum Rule #1.
 
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Rob Henderson said:
THERE WE ARE! The truth comes out. Thank you for not beating around the bush anymore, as now we can address the real issue. Selfishness. We'll never win this fight because you're selfish and quite frankly, I'm not. I actually give a damn about the rest of the world. My views push me towards humanitarianism and caring. Your views push you towards greed and gluttony. We will never push the other side, so we may as well drop this whole argument right now.


And you STILL don't get what I'm saying... I never said to completely ignore the United States' problems. I just said we could help the rest of the world a little bit.
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Yes, and I have a picture of Hitler next to the charred remains of an American flag... :roll:

Just step back for a minute and think about what you're saying. You're calling a guy who didn't want to go to Iraq, who's furious about civillian and military deaths there, who wants Osama bin Laden's head to sit on a stick in Kabul until there's nothing but a skull left, who doesn't want oil to be drilled offshore, selfish. I'M selfish because I put my country over some other country. Well, I could call you a terrorist for putting another country over your own. But I know that's bull:cen:.

I want what's right for AMERICA first. Not Zimbabwe, Iraq, or Spain first. The United States of America comes first. THEN, once our problems are solved, comes the rest of the world. Affix your oxygen mask before affixing the mask of your child...

And I'm not saying to completely ignore the rest of the world. I just said that we should help America first.

Mr. Don't-Take-Words-Out-Of-My-Mouth isn't exactly practicing what he preaches...
 
All of America's problems will never be solved. It's like every country.
I understand where you're coming from but don't over do it because Chiang Kai Shek was one of the most famous cases of dealing with "internal" problems before dealing with "foreign" problems. The result? He kept fighting against the Communists while avoiding the Japanese. That went well for him. A few years later he ended up hauling ass to Taiwan.
 
Obviously he didn't.
But if you say no international involvement of any kind until all issues at home are solved, you are inviting isolationism because domestic issues will NEVER be solved completely.
 
I'm not waiting for complete soliving... that's just not happening. However, as many of you will notice, things have gotten a little rocky here lately...
 
Yeah, even if things are real good things won't appear too good. You can thank the Press for that. If they don't give you the impression that the sky is falling, they go out of business.
 
The Other Guy said:
Germany seems completely terrified. They really don't want to make either side angry so they are keeping as low a profile as possible..
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Germany and France to my knowledge were the only two countries that actually did critizise Russia and the Russian behaviour in Georgia before the meeting in NATO recently.

I cannot understand how you can conclude Germany is afraid of Germany, fill me in please.
 
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