Bush Sucks.

[coolbreeze]

Cool breeze...and your hatred for Bush helps the problems of the world....how?

What I meant was that whether i like bush or not is not going to change anything in the world and that we need to look past political boundaries. You said this better than I could, but I disagree with you on one thing...

And hating any one in office is a waste of energy. Better to direct that energy outward in a more peaceful thoughtform....one that perhaps can raise the level of positive energy in the world instead of just feeding into all the negative energy that already exists.

Hmmm... Yes, but sometimes I think that my dislike for their policies motivates me to get something done towards what I feel is better - volunteering or something, in a positive mood. I put that hate to use in a good way. I see where you're coming from however. A "peaceful thoughtform" can still dislike Bush without verbally bashing him all the time. Most of the people I've talked to who dislike bush are putting that energy to good use, but they still hate him.

[Leyla]

Hell, I've even put myself up on auction as a mail order bride!

I'm not kidding. This is the profile I'm using (no joke.)

JUST_GET_ME_OUT_OF_HERE

Desperate (and did I mention really sexy?) American girl dreams of life in a magical land of Health Care, Education and Low Crime. I'm surrounded by religious zealots with guns.

If you want to "hop the pond" first and become an American before making me a citizen of your country, we could work that out also.

Heck, if you're Scottish we could both get dual citizenships.

Perhaps you are really rich and want to enjoy a low tax rate while the peasent class works for laughably low slave wages - Then America is your kind of country! Write me! If I find you charming enough you can come on over!

I, however, am not obscenely wealthy and would prefer to be somewhere that the cost of one university class is not to equal my monthly rent.


***She describes her ideal match thus:***

I'm looking for an educated man, from the UK/Canada, or some other country not currently on a global domination campaign.

He should be in his late twenties to early thirties, moderately good
looking, and have a sexy accent (or lack of an accent if you're English.)

[Frank]

Hi:

I think you mean if you are British you can get dual citizenships as opposed to Scottish.

Health care, education and low crime, you wouldn't want to live in England then. It's noisy, polluted, and crime is soaring but guns are banned and religion is no longer on the menu in most places.

Yours,
Frank

[Gandalf]

Hey Leyla never mind what frank says about England.. Scotland is NOT polluted, overcrowded or, despite what the media hype may say, crime ridden. It also has one of the highest population rates of university education in Europe.

Yes, Scotland is still part of the political union *with* England (not PART of England like some people think!), although for how long Scotland will continue to stay with the United Kingdom of Britain is another matter, it already has its own parliament and devolved government so it may only be a matter of time before it becomes independent again, after all it was independent before and has only been part of the United Kingdom for the past 300 years.

If the people of Scotland really want to be 100% independent again all they have to do is all vote for it in the Scottish parliament tomorrow or whenever they want, but most people seem happy with the current arangement, at least for now.

Anyway, sorry for going off on a tangent: Leyla, I am Scottish, with British citizenship and 'educated' if by that you mean that I have been to university. As for the good looking bit, that's for you to decide.  If I fit the bill can I mail order you?



Doug

[catmeow]

I've just discovered this great thread.  I'll have to read it all later, but all I can say is that here in the UK amongst the more intelligent observers, Bush is considered to be something of a cross between a half-wit baffoon and a corrupt self-interested lying money-grabber.  How could you guys in the USA vote him back in?  Beats the hell out of us all here in the UK....  We voted Blair back in sadly, but at least Blair can string a sentence together, and has a measurable IQ.

catmeow

[no_leaf_clover]

How could you guys in the USA vote him back in?

I doubt seriously that we did.

Sorry to say though that Bush/US and Blair/England are sort of colleagues of one another to say the least. :-/  But at least you guys can actually grill your officials with hard questions on public TV. Over here it's all butt-kissing for the president on TV.

[Nick]

Posted by catmeow:

How could you guys in the USA vote him back in?

Many of us did not vote for him. Unfortunately, not enough.  

[no_leaf_clover]

For those of you who are interested in our last election, check the following site out:

http://www.investigatethevote.org/

Thousands and thousands of votes went missing/were mysteriously added across the country due to problems with the voting machines. When Diebold workers called in to ask why the print-outs had different results than the screens on the machines, they were told "Don't worry about it." And of course, there were all sorts of problems between both the 2000 and 2004 elections along the line of Franklin County, Ohio's: 638 people voted in that county, and somehow Bush ended up receiving 4,258 votes there. Again, similar problems will pop up if you look at the numbers behind either election.

Something else to think about is that two companies provided 80% of the country's voting machines. Both of those companies were open monetary supporters of the Republican Campaign, Diebold being very much so. The voting machines themselves were not allowed to be inspected by any federal officials, nor any of the coding examined or approved by anyone in the government, etc., for "security" reasons of course (but ours or theirs?). Diebold makes ATMs, checkout scanners, and ticket machines that all generate a paper trails that log every single transaction. Of course, the voting machines did not leave any paper trails at all, leaving no evidence that the numbers going into the machines were anything like the numbers coming back out.

One of the CEOs even remarked before the elections about how he was looking forward to delivering the vote to Bush in Ohio. The CEO of the other company, is that dude's very own brother. Lovely corporate situation, eh? It was only after immense public criticism that Diebold would later apologize for the comment, admitting it was "innapropriate"...

I say something is rotten in the state of Columbia.

----------

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." - Josef Stalin

[Frank]

Scotland is NOT polluted, overcrowded or, despite what the media hype may say, crime ridden.

Yes, I agree, but it's darned COLD!!!  :)

Yours,
Frank

[catmeow]

Thousands and thousands of votes went missing/were mysteriously added across the country due to problems with the voting machines.

We have had a similar problem with postal voting though nothing nearly on quite such a grand scale.  Not even close.  But we'll probably get to where you are eventually!

But at least you guys can actually grill your officials with hard questions on public TV.

True, Bush wouldn't stand a chance here or during "Prime Minister's question time" in the House of Commons , he'd be annihilated.  Clinton... well that's a different matter, he'd do just fine...

catmeow

[Frank]

Bush, ha ha, he'd be laughed out of office. I remember him going on during the election about him reading the bible for 2 hours every day and all that jazz. That's really scary. Any politician in the UK who started rambling on like that would have their days numbered, and quite right too. And all that flag-waving as well, very, very scary. Just doesn't happen in the UK. As I said on another post a few days ago, England is not so much a country but a club you belong to.

Yours,
Frank

[catmeow]

I remember him going on during the election about him reading the bible for 2 hours every day and all that jazz

You mean the guy can read?

I heard he had a fire at home... both his books were burnt to ashes, but it was okay because he'd already coloured them in....

It would be funny if it wasn't actually so serious....  we have a bible-bashing nutter with a mental age of a 12 in charge of the most powerful army in the world...

catmeow

[Gandalf]

Yes, I agree, but it's darned COLD!!!

Can't argue with that... but it ain't that cold all of the time  

What else do you expect for Northern Europe? Edinburgh is on the same latitude as Copenhagen in Denmark... you don't hear them complain about the weather... it's a British thing!



Doug

[Frank]

Doug:

The wilds of Scotland are something else. I know, I've been there. The Lochs are out of this world. The stuff that love is made from, especially Loch Lomond (it's the backdrop of the mountains and the mist of the morning while watching the sun rise)... but it is FLAMING COLD!!! :)

And how you can wear a skirt in those conditions is beyond me. I guess it must be a Highland thing.

Yours,
Frank

[Gandalf]

hehe

I'll have you know, the kilt keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer, and more importantly, the girls love it, which should provide enough action to keep you warm all year round  

And remember you can always toss the caber  

Doug

[Frank]

It would be funny if it wasn't actually so serious.... we have a bible-bashing nutter with a mental age of a 12 in charge of the most powerful army in the world...

Catmeow:

I know, and that's what is scary.

When it comes up on TV, being English we think, no, it's just satire, like it's a "Spitting Image" style spoof. Unfortunately, what is taking place today is real over there. On the other side of that pond we call the Atlantic Ocean there is actually a bible-bashing nutter with a mental age of 12 in charge of the most powerful military force in the world. And people in America wonder why we are concerned???

We didn't mind when the big guy at the top had a brain. Like when the Russians wanted to negotiate and all went cosy and nice and "walls" started falling and all that. But now, this little garden gnome has his head screwed on the other way. He is on a PRIVATE agenda, make no mistake. It's oil, oil, oil. Just daddy's oil interests he is protecting.

I stand against the American leadership now with sore reluctance. My family fought side by side in WWII. People in the UK are so remembering of those basic things that other races may forget. But not English people. They still remember the old allegiances and standing against Americans now is not easy.

I, personally, have decided to ignore all the military messages and other propaganda. I am just going to listen to the ordinary people in America who are in touch with me on a daily basis. America is a great country, and long may it be so. I just wish they would spend about a tenth they spend on arms to feed, clothe and house the world's starving children. Nearly 40 MILLION children die every year merely through lack of basic necessities like nourishment and healthcare. Please help those children. PLEASE make those children your concern.

Put yourself in their place. Just the cost of ONE Cruise Missile would feed, house and educate about a hundred children in Africa for decades and decades. But you wouldn't have to. Give people a start in life and they will "repay" you a hundred fold. That is the grand opportunity you are not seeing.

There are no "terrorists" in the world. They are just people who have ordinary needs and they represent others with similar needs. It is just darned unfortunate that, in the history of the human race, certain people feel they have to stoop to doing such awful things as blowing up buildings and stuff. But blowing up more buildings in answer is NOT the way forward!!! We need more compassion and restraint in this world... not more WAR. Not a war against terrorism, not a war against anything. We've got enough wars.

The real world is thoroughly SICK of war and is looking to the American people, the leaders of this world (yes, like it or not you are the leaders of this world) to vote AGAINST war. Ask yourself, because this is what it all boils down to at the end of the day... is your dependence on oil really worth all those lives???

Yours,
Frank

[Leyla]

Frank- I was certain the American actor Sean Connery has a dual citizenship to the US and Scotland?

Now wait just a minute- I was in England only a few months ago and it wasn't the nightmare you describe. It was all rolling countryside, except for London.

Gandalf - *blush* How old are you? By your picture I'm guessing mid 80's?

Frank- The US doesn't care about it's own starving uneducated children and you think we're going to care about others?

Bush's "No child left behind" program is a wolf in sheeps clothing. What it means is, that if any schools children don't score above a certain percent on a test, the govenment takes funding away from that school and shuts it down!

Supposedly this is meant to "motivate" the teachers into making sure the children score well. But really, the republicans resent having to spend money on educating the peasant class, and hope to gradually close all schools one by one.

Desperate teachers all over this country have been caught forging test grades, to prevent their school from closing.

Soon, only the wealthy upper class will know how to read and write.

[Willis]

Frank, unfortunately, I think your last post rang quite true.  I believe in Democracy but see it slowly being eroded away through the evils of capitalism.  Capitalism isn't all bad, it is a powerful force that needs to be guided in a direction that is beneficial for all.

We, as a world, have the ability and the knowledge today to cure the ills of society.  We just need people in office who have the balls to do it.

I once believed that America/Democracy/Capitalism had the courage to lead the world in an all out rescue of humanity and environment.  Though there are millions of people who want the same, I see our garden gnome (lol, that fits him great!) damaging that leadership role.

I only hope that the next Administration recognizes the grave threat that is looming in the very near future and does something about it.

NGO (non-governmental organizations) and citizens of America sent $550 million dollars to help rebuild tsunami ravaged Indonesia, Asia, etc. and this type of humanitarian effort needs to be a catalyst.  And us "better than poverty" people of the world need to recognize that our efforts count as well, especially when magnified through a billion people.

The time is ripe for a slow transition of the world's army's to begin a humanitarian crusade to save the world (with capitalism funding it!).

[Gandalf]

Gandalf - *blush* How old are you? By your picture I'm guessing mid 80's?


HAHA!!!! that's NOT me believe it or not! I'm 30.. bang within your target range!

Frank- I was certain the American actor Sean Connery has a dual citizenship to the US and Scotland?

Ah, this comes back to what I was trying to explain earlier:

Sean Connery is Scottish but holds *British* citizenship.

Just as Frank is English but also holds *British* citizenship.

How is this possible?

This is because *British* and Britain as in the United Kingdom, is a *political union* between two countries, England and Scotland. They are still both separate with their own laws but are united in a political partnership known as the United Kingdom of Britain (Wales and NI also are part of this union to a lesser degree as Wales is already subsumed under England BEFORE the Act of Union with England and Scotland).

Scotland is still a separate country from England though as any Scotsman or Englishman would tell you. Scotland is not just another part of England like some people think. Scotland is certainly with England in the United Kingdom, but it still retains its own laws and parliament and government, although there is a United Kingdom parliament to represent everyone at Westminster in London.

As such all citizens of Scotland, England, Wales and NI hold British citizenship, rather than citizenship of their individual countries, in order to demonstrate the allegiance to the political union of 'Britain'.
Hopefully you can see also that Britain is NOT another word of England. Britain is the collective umbrella term for England AND Scotland (and Wales and NI)

That's why Sean Connery is Scottish but holds British citizenship, not Scottish citizenship, and also why Frank holds British citizenship, not English citizenship. It is a mistake when people use the words English and British as if they were the same thing, they are not, although a lot of Americans get confused by this for some reason  

Doug

[no_leaf_clover]

And all that flag-waving as well, very, very scary.

The people that are doing all that flag-waving are the scariest. The radio over here is saturated with Republican propoganda that is just as agenda-driven as our government, and it's very aggressively persuasive (they also lie frequently, distort facts, etc., all that you'd expect). Those people that wave their flags so proudly are the ones that have listened to those types of programs a bit too frequently, or watched a little too much Fox News.

I heard he had a fire at home... both his books were burnt to ashes, but it was okay because he'd already coloured them in....

LOL! I think that bit about him reading the Bible for two hours every day is just a tad of an outright lie anyway.

[Leyla]

Gandalf- And are you a brawny highland warrior? Are you going toss me over your shoulder, carry me back to your bothy and ravish me amongst the wild heather?

What color are your eyes?

And how disappointing that I can't get multiple citizenships all across Europe. Unless I renounce my American citizenship, perhaps?

[Gandalf]

Me at a friend's wedding last October. Eyes are blue. (I'm on the right btw!   )

Don't know about the Brawny, but I can certainly 'ravish you amongst the wild heather' lol

btw I don't see why you can't get multiple citizenship in countries in Europe and still retain your US citizenship.

Doug

[Frank]

Doug:

Can you play the bagpipes?

Yours,
Frank

[Hans Solo]

And how disappointing that I can't get multiple citizenships all across Europe. Unless I renounce my American citizenship, perhaps?

You don't have to renounce your American citizenship.  I know that perpetual tourist (PT's) have multiple citizenships.  I just wish I could get one in Andorra!  It sucks that Americans are taxed on their world wide income, even if they don't live in the US.

HAN[/quote]

[Gandalf]

Frank_

I'm afraid not, takes too long to learn.

ah, there's nothing like the skirl of the pipes  the morning  

Doug

PS sorry none of this has anything to do with how 'Bush sucks' but then we all know that already!