Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (3605 mails)
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SPAM: Re: [SLE] [OT] Re: And another 10.1 showstopper -- American bashing
- From: Graham Anderson <graham.anderson@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 15:59:39 +0100
- Message-id: <200606031559.40739.graham.anderson@xxxxxxxxx>
On Saturday 03 June 2006 13:36, Bryan J. Smith wrote:
> People envy the US for its wealthy and prosperity.
How deluded you truly are, mostly the rest of world are rather bemused why so
many Americans keep buying in to this "we are number one!" crap.
It's rather an anomaly that the U.S. has had the strongest economy for the
last century. Throughout history the largest economy, and by implication,
wealthiest nation was China. If current economic figures are accurate China
will overtake the U.S. and reclaim it's position as the worlds largest
economy sometime around 2010-2015, if not sooner. I'm sure you can figure out
the implications for the U.S. , the rest of the world sure has ;)
This is not a "bash America" rant, I'm just merely pointing out that it's a
common misconception by many Americans that the world envies them. We really
don't.
And if you *still* truly believe the rest of the world is envious of the U.S.
have a look at these figures and then ask yourself why would any other nation
or people be envious...
the full article is here:
http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1264/article12985.asp And the author
sums up the state of affairs rather neatly at the bottom
"No. 1? In most important categories we're not even in the Top 10 anymore. Not
even close. The USA is "No. 1" in nothing but weaponry, consumer spending,
debt, and delusion. "
* The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (the New York Times, Dec.
12, 2004).
* The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy
(NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
* Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the earth. Seventeen
percent believe the earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan.
7, 2005).
* "The International Adult Literacy Survey...found that Americans with less
than nine years of education 'score worse than virtually all of the other
countries'" (Jeremy Rifkin's superbly documented book The European Dream: How
Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, p.78).
* Our workers are so ignorant and lack so many basic skills that American
businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, Dec. 12,
2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere!
* "The European Union leads the U.S. in...the number of science and
engineering graduates; public research and development (R&D) expenditures;
and new capital raised" (The European Dream, p.70).
* "Europe surpassed the United States in the mid-1990s as the largest producer
of scientific literature" (The European Dream, p.70).
* Nevertheless, Congress cut funds to the National Science Foundation. The
agency will issue 1,000 fewer research grants this year (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004).
* Foreign applications to U.S. grad schools declined 28 percent last year.
Foreign student enrollment on all levels fell for the first time in three
decades, but increased greatly in Europe and China. Last year Chinese
grad-school graduates in the U.S. dropped 56 percent, Indians 51 percent,
South Koreans 28 percent (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004). We're not the place to be
anymore.
* The World Health Organization "ranked the countries of the world in terms of
overall health performance, and the U.S. [was]...37th." In the fairness of
health care, we're 54th. "The irony is that the United States spends more per
capita for health care than any other nation in the world" (The European
Dream, pp.79-80). Pay more, get lots, lots less.
* "The U.S. and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the world
that do not provide health care for all their citizens" (The European Dream,
p.80). Excuse me, but since when is South Africa a "developed" country?
Anyway, that's the company we're keeping.
* Lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary American deaths
a year. (That's six times the number of people killed on 9/11.) (NYT, Jan.
12, 2005.)
* "U.S. childhood poverty now ranks 22nd, or second to last, among the
developed nations. Only Mexico scores lower" (The European Dream, p.81). Been
to Mexico lately? Does it look "developed" to you? Yet it's the
only "developed" country to score lower in childhood poverty.
* Twelve million American families--more than 10 percent of all U.S.
households--"continue to struggle, and not always successfully, to feed
themselves." Families that "had members who actually went hungry at some
point last year" numbered 3.9 million (NYT, Nov. 22, 2004).
Advertisement
* The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores
higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
* Women are 70 percent more likely to die in childbirth in America than in
Europe (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
* The leading cause of death of pregnant women in this country is murder (CNN,
Dec. 14, 2004).
* "Of the 20 most developed countries in the world, the U.S. was dead last in
the growth rate of total compensation to its workforce in the 1980s.... In
the 1990s, the U.S. average compensation growth rate grew only slightly, at
an annual rate of about 0.1 percent" (The European Dream, p.39). Yet
Americans work longer hours per year than any other industrialized country,
and get less vacation time.
* "Sixty-one of the 140 biggest companies on the Global Fortune 500 rankings
are European, while only 50 are U.S. companies" (The European Dream,
p.66). "In a recent survey of the world's 50 best companies, conducted by
Global Finance, all but one were European" (The European Dream, p.69).
* "Fourteen of the 20 largest commercial banks in the world today are
European.... In the chemical industry, the European company BASF is the
world's leader, and three of the top six players are European. In engineering
and construction, three of the top five companies are European.... The two
others are Japanese. Not a single American engineering and construction
company is included among the world's top nine competitors. In food and
consumer products, Nestlé and Unilever, two European giants, rank first and
second, respectively, in the world. In the food and drugstore retail trade,
two European companies...are first and second, and European companies make up
five of the top ten. Only four U.S. companies are on the list" (The European
Dream, p.68).
* The United States has lost 1.3 million jobs to China in the last decade
(CNN, Jan. 12, 2005).
* U.S. employers eliminated 1 million jobs in 2004 (The Week, Jan. 14, 2005).
* Three million six hundred thousand Americans ran out of unemployment
insurance last year; 1.8 million--one in five--unemployed workers are jobless
for more than six months (NYT, Jan. 9, 2005).
* Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea hold 40 percent of our government
debt. (That's why we talk nice to them.) "By helping keep mortgage rates from
rising, China has come to play an enormous and little-noticed role in
sustaining the American housing boom" (NYT, Dec. 4, 2004). Read that twice.
We owe our housing boom to China, because they want us to keep buying all
that stuff they manufacture.
* Sometime in the next 10 years Brazil will probably pass the U.S. as the
world's largest agricultural producer. Brazil is now the world's largest
exporter of chickens, orange juice, sugar, coffee, and tobacco. Last year,
Brazil passed the U.S. as the world's largest beef producer. (Hear that, you
poor deluded cowboys?) As a result, while we bear record trade deficits,
Brazil boasts a $30 billion trade surplus (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
* As of last June, the U.S. imported more food than it exported (NYT, Dec.
12, 2004).
* Bush: 62,027,582 votes. Kerry: 59,026,003 votes. Number of eligible voters
who didn't show up: 79,279,000 (NYT, Dec. 26, 2004). That's more than a
third. Way more. If more than a third of Iraqis don't show for their
election, no country in the world will think that election legitimate.
* One-third of all U.S. children are born out of wedlock. One-half of all
U.S. children will live in a one-parent house (CNN, Dec. 10, 2004).
* "Americans are now spending more money on gambling than on movies, videos,
DVDs, music, and books combined" (The European Dream, p.28).
* "Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what
they want is acceptable" (The European Dream, p.32).
* Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified,
according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004).
* "Nearly 900,000 children were abused or neglected in 2002, the last year
for which such data are available" (USA Today, Dec. 21, 2004).
* "The International Association of Chiefs of Police said that cuts by the
[Bush] administration in federal aid to local police agencies have left the
nation more vulnerable than ever" (USA Today, Nov. 17, 2004).
--
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> People envy the US for its wealthy and prosperity.
How deluded you truly are, mostly the rest of world are rather bemused why so
many Americans keep buying in to this "we are number one!" crap.
It's rather an anomaly that the U.S. has had the strongest economy for the
last century. Throughout history the largest economy, and by implication,
wealthiest nation was China. If current economic figures are accurate China
will overtake the U.S. and reclaim it's position as the worlds largest
economy sometime around 2010-2015, if not sooner. I'm sure you can figure out
the implications for the U.S. , the rest of the world sure has ;)
This is not a "bash America" rant, I'm just merely pointing out that it's a
common misconception by many Americans that the world envies them. We really
don't.
And if you *still* truly believe the rest of the world is envious of the U.S.
have a look at these figures and then ask yourself why would any other nation
or people be envious...
the full article is here:
http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1264/article12985.asp And the author
sums up the state of affairs rather neatly at the bottom
"No. 1? In most important categories we're not even in the Top 10 anymore. Not
even close. The USA is "No. 1" in nothing but weaponry, consumer spending,
debt, and delusion. "
* The United States is 49th in the world in literacy (the New York Times, Dec.
12, 2004).
* The United States ranked 28th out of 40 countries in mathematical literacy
(NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
* Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the earth. Seventeen
percent believe the earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan.
7, 2005).
* "The International Adult Literacy Survey...found that Americans with less
than nine years of education 'score worse than virtually all of the other
countries'" (Jeremy Rifkin's superbly documented book The European Dream: How
Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream, p.78).
* Our workers are so ignorant and lack so many basic skills that American
businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, Dec. 12,
2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere!
* "The European Union leads the U.S. in...the number of science and
engineering graduates; public research and development (R&D) expenditures;
and new capital raised" (The European Dream, p.70).
* "Europe surpassed the United States in the mid-1990s as the largest producer
of scientific literature" (The European Dream, p.70).
* Nevertheless, Congress cut funds to the National Science Foundation. The
agency will issue 1,000 fewer research grants this year (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004).
* Foreign applications to U.S. grad schools declined 28 percent last year.
Foreign student enrollment on all levels fell for the first time in three
decades, but increased greatly in Europe and China. Last year Chinese
grad-school graduates in the U.S. dropped 56 percent, Indians 51 percent,
South Koreans 28 percent (NYT, Dec. 21, 2004). We're not the place to be
anymore.
* The World Health Organization "ranked the countries of the world in terms of
overall health performance, and the U.S. [was]...37th." In the fairness of
health care, we're 54th. "The irony is that the United States spends more per
capita for health care than any other nation in the world" (The European
Dream, pp.79-80). Pay more, get lots, lots less.
* "The U.S. and South Africa are the only two developed countries in the world
that do not provide health care for all their citizens" (The European Dream,
p.80). Excuse me, but since when is South Africa a "developed" country?
Anyway, that's the company we're keeping.
* Lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary American deaths
a year. (That's six times the number of people killed on 9/11.) (NYT, Jan.
12, 2005.)
* "U.S. childhood poverty now ranks 22nd, or second to last, among the
developed nations. Only Mexico scores lower" (The European Dream, p.81). Been
to Mexico lately? Does it look "developed" to you? Yet it's the
only "developed" country to score lower in childhood poverty.
* Twelve million American families--more than 10 percent of all U.S.
households--"continue to struggle, and not always successfully, to feed
themselves." Families that "had members who actually went hungry at some
point last year" numbered 3.9 million (NYT, Nov. 22, 2004).
Advertisement
* The United States is 41st in the world in infant mortality. Cuba scores
higher (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
* Women are 70 percent more likely to die in childbirth in America than in
Europe (NYT, Jan. 12, 2005).
* The leading cause of death of pregnant women in this country is murder (CNN,
Dec. 14, 2004).
* "Of the 20 most developed countries in the world, the U.S. was dead last in
the growth rate of total compensation to its workforce in the 1980s.... In
the 1990s, the U.S. average compensation growth rate grew only slightly, at
an annual rate of about 0.1 percent" (The European Dream, p.39). Yet
Americans work longer hours per year than any other industrialized country,
and get less vacation time.
* "Sixty-one of the 140 biggest companies on the Global Fortune 500 rankings
are European, while only 50 are U.S. companies" (The European Dream,
p.66). "In a recent survey of the world's 50 best companies, conducted by
Global Finance, all but one were European" (The European Dream, p.69).
* "Fourteen of the 20 largest commercial banks in the world today are
European.... In the chemical industry, the European company BASF is the
world's leader, and three of the top six players are European. In engineering
and construction, three of the top five companies are European.... The two
others are Japanese. Not a single American engineering and construction
company is included among the world's top nine competitors. In food and
consumer products, Nestlé and Unilever, two European giants, rank first and
second, respectively, in the world. In the food and drugstore retail trade,
two European companies...are first and second, and European companies make up
five of the top ten. Only four U.S. companies are on the list" (The European
Dream, p.68).
* The United States has lost 1.3 million jobs to China in the last decade
(CNN, Jan. 12, 2005).
* U.S. employers eliminated 1 million jobs in 2004 (The Week, Jan. 14, 2005).
* Three million six hundred thousand Americans ran out of unemployment
insurance last year; 1.8 million--one in five--unemployed workers are jobless
for more than six months (NYT, Jan. 9, 2005).
* Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea hold 40 percent of our government
debt. (That's why we talk nice to them.) "By helping keep mortgage rates from
rising, China has come to play an enormous and little-noticed role in
sustaining the American housing boom" (NYT, Dec. 4, 2004). Read that twice.
We owe our housing boom to China, because they want us to keep buying all
that stuff they manufacture.
* Sometime in the next 10 years Brazil will probably pass the U.S. as the
world's largest agricultural producer. Brazil is now the world's largest
exporter of chickens, orange juice, sugar, coffee, and tobacco. Last year,
Brazil passed the U.S. as the world's largest beef producer. (Hear that, you
poor deluded cowboys?) As a result, while we bear record trade deficits,
Brazil boasts a $30 billion trade surplus (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004).
* As of last June, the U.S. imported more food than it exported (NYT, Dec.
12, 2004).
* Bush: 62,027,582 votes. Kerry: 59,026,003 votes. Number of eligible voters
who didn't show up: 79,279,000 (NYT, Dec. 26, 2004). That's more than a
third. Way more. If more than a third of Iraqis don't show for their
election, no country in the world will think that election legitimate.
* One-third of all U.S. children are born out of wedlock. One-half of all
U.S. children will live in a one-parent house (CNN, Dec. 10, 2004).
* "Americans are now spending more money on gambling than on movies, videos,
DVDs, music, and books combined" (The European Dream, p.28).
* "Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what
they want is acceptable" (The European Dream, p.32).
* Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified,
according to a PEW Poll (Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2004).
* "Nearly 900,000 children were abused or neglected in 2002, the last year
for which such data are available" (USA Today, Dec. 21, 2004).
* "The International Association of Chiefs of Police said that cuts by the
[Bush] administration in federal aid to local police agencies have left the
nation more vulnerable than ever" (USA Today, Nov. 17, 2004).
--
Check the headers for your unsubscription address
For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@xxxxxxxx
Also check the archives at http://lists.suse.com
Please read the FAQs: suse-linux-e-faq@xxxxxxxx
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