Void the election results: is it possible at all?

[CBS240]

Wait a minute, if their daughters marry one another, they're probably not walking the streets at night, they're probably home nagging each other about taking out the garbage or cleaning out the gutters.

If they aren't dismembered in an "honor killing" by thier father and brothers for marrying another woman and making the family look bad.

 

[SY]

Well, that makes it even more difficult to walk the streets, doesn't it?

 

[Eva]

Well, that makes it even more difficult to walk the streets, doesn't it?

USA is a very unsafe country. In the rest of the world we don't need to sleep with guns under our pillows in order to survive . In Spain very little people owns fire arms, maybe 1 in every 1.000 citizens, and murder is such an infrequent event.

------------------------------------

There is more objective data (numbers) about your system:

America by the numbers

Michael Ventura – The Austin Chronicle March 3, 2005

No concept lies more firmly embedded in our national character than the notion that the USA is "No. 1," "the greatest." Our broadcast media are, in essence, continuous advertisements for the brand name "America Is No. 1." Any office seeker saying otherwise would be committing political suicide. In fact, anyone saying otherwise will be labeled "un-American." We're an "empire," ain't we? Sure we are. An empire without a manufacturing base. An empire that must borrow $2 billion a day from its competitors in order to function. Yet the delusion is ineradicable. We're No. 1. Well...this is the country you really live in:

· 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).

· 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).

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.

Reprinted from the Austin Chronicle.
www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a1433.htm

-------------------------------------------------

This one about high school dropouts and how the government is hiding the numbers is also interesting:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/06/60II/main591676.shtml

-------------------------------------------------

It's quite sad that you, the own USA citizens, just can't see what's happening, because your future is the one endangered, not mine, since I live far away in another continent with a government that takes better care of us.

Anyway, if you insist on being fooled into thinking that everything is going right and you don't matter about your future, I'll neither do.

Update: Your beloved Bush has just said that he doesn't discard to attack Iran if they continue with their civilian-purpose nuclear program. Prepare for a new war even before the previous one has ended. Note that Iran has three times more population than Irak (70 million) and is four times bigger. Also, it has a 7 million-strong "Basiji" volunteer militia so several years of guerrilla and resistance are guaranteed (much stronger than currently on Iraq).

 

[SY]

USA is a very unsafe country. In the rest of the world we don't need to sleep with guns under our pillows in order to survive . In Spain very little people owns fire arms, maybe 1 in every 1.000 citizens, and murder is such an infrequent event.

I take it that you have not spent much time in the USA nor do you actually know many Americans. So far, I haven't seen one characterization of the US from you that I recognize.

Now, true, I have the disadvantage of actually living here and observing first-hand, so cannot evaluate things with the perspicacity of someone 10,000 km away...

 

[pinkmouse]

... of someone 10,000 km away...

The metric indoctrination is slowly working. Now all we need to do to complete the undermining of the US is shoot all the lawyers...


Muhahahaha!

 

[SY]

Al, we are in agreement regarding the Shakespearian approach.

It's easy to know which unit to use when speaking with Continentals. With the English, I never know what to use and normally have to ask. We've had a longstanding joke here that drugs were actually a government plot to force kids to learn the metric system. When I was a lad, every teenager knew that there were 28 grams in an ounce, excpet in New York, where the conversion factor was 25.

What weighs more, an ounce of feathers or an ounce of gold?

 

[pinkmouse]

I quite happily go into a builder's merchants and order 60 metres of 4x2, and 30 foot of 22mm copper pipe...

Basic rule, under 30 years old - metric, over 40, imperial, in between or a builder, both.

 

[SY]

You dodged my question!

 

[pinkmouse]

And I'm going to do it again.

Have you not gone to bed yet, or has the lad woken you early?

 

[SY]

No, the wife did. I think I'll put on the headphones, pour a nice glass of something nice, then fall asleep like a True American: splayed out on the couch, drink in hand, and a gun under my pillow.

 

[Eva]

SY:

Then I'll give you crime numbers to demonstrate that USA is a very unsafe country, even in comparison with Spain that is a relatively undeveloped and unsafe country for European standards... (check Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands...)

USA population (2000): Approx. 280 million.
Spain population (2001): Approx. 41 million.

Number of assaults in a year:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_%61%73%73
United States: 2,238,480 (1999)
Spain: 90,453 (2000)

[note: the forum is censoring 'a s s' in the URL so I had to force it]

Number of murders in a year:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_mur
United States: 12,658 (1999)
Spain: 494 (2000)

Number of rapes in a year:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_rap
United States: 89,110 (1999)
Spain : 5,664 (2000)

Number of burglaries in a year:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_bur
United States: 2,099,700 (1999)
Spain: 23,856 (2000)

Number of car thefts in a year:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_car_the
United States: 1,147,300 (1999)
Spain: 134,584 (2000)

Number of frauds in a year:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_fra
United States: 371,800 (1999)
Spain: 15,462 (2000)

Executions (1999):
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_exe
Congo, Democratic Republic of the: 100 executions
United States: 68 executions
Iran: 66 executions
You are just in your place, between Congo and Iran since here in Europe we don't have such a thing as death sentences.

Total prisoners:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_pri
United States: 2,078,570 prisoners
Spain : 59,251 prisoners


These numbers not only suggest that USA is a uncivilised place, but also demonstrate that it's the world leader in crime. No doubt that your crazy system has a lot to do with such high crime figures, altough you are fooled into thinking that more than 2 million assaults per year is 'safe'.

You may continue thinking that USA is a safe place and you may argue that I don't know your country, but you don't know Europe either so you have no reference point in order to say 'safer' or 'unsafer'. We both have to trust the numbers.

 

[SY]

Yes, it's very crime-free in Spain. Never had a problem there, other than my car being broken into each and every time I've visited. Apparently, that doesn't get added into the statistics.

I don't claim to "know" Europe, but I do spend roughly 14-16 weeks a year travelling there and dealing with people socially and in business. That has given me at least a bit of exposure to the Real World, and enough to display a degree of skepticism about data-fishing.

I will admit that there's one country I visit yearly that does fit your description. Citizens sleep with their guns and travel with bodyguards. The streets are decidedly unsafe in some of their biggest cities. It's English-speaking and completely Europeanized. But it doesn't seem to make your list.

 

[Eva]

Oh, as I've said, Spain is not particularly a safe place either, but there is a main difference between my country and USA: VIOLENCE.

You will hardly ever find yourself facing an assault or a gun here (there are very few guns and most of them are actually plastic toys!!), our thefts are more clever than that, they will observe you carefully until you get distracted, then they will take all your stuff in a peaceful and silent way without you ever noticing. Also, they will abort the 'operation' and run away if you ever notice them, they won't face you nor use violence against you.

If you come back here, try to look not like a foreginer or a rich man, otherwise you will attract the attention of every theft in the country. They are smart enough to prefer robbing foreginers rather than our own people , particularly since more than 50 million tourists visit Spain each year and this is more people than our own population.

 

[CBS240]

USA is a very unsafe country. In the rest of the world we don't need to sleep with guns under our pillows in order to survive . In Spain very little people owns fire arms, maybe 1 in every 1.000 citizens, and murder is such an infrequent event.

I think you have seen too much Western TV. Gunfighting in the streets IS ileagal. People don't come gunning for you unless you give them a reason. Random violence isn't as common as you might think. "Guns don't kill people, husbands that come home early kill people"
---Larry the Cable Guy


On the other hand, two weeks ago, in a rather local neigborhood, some guys stole from a few stupid rednecks and they decided to commit a drive-by and ended up compleatly missing thier targets and killing a 19 year old girl who was trying to shield a 4-year old. Of course in this state, they still execute and hopefully will make a good example of these fools. But this is a very rare occurance aroung here.


I have a small collection of guns at my fathers house but not where I live, I don't really need one here. Besides, most of them are antiques from the Civil War period and obviously won't be fired. Of course he has an 1862 Griswald 44 cal, I think it is. This piece could be fired, it has been checked out by a gunsmith...beautiful condition...of course I wouldn't do it... degrades value. Somewhat rare piece as this was a Confederate revolver and almost all were destroyed by the Federal troops after the war. It is being displayed at a local musium right now, along with a Union SGT uniform and a captain's officier sabor among other items.

The metric indoctrination is slowly working. Now all we need to do to complete the undermining of the US is shoot all the lawyers...


Muhahahaha!

I truly do wish the Standard system of measure never existed in the first place. Metric is sooooooo much more easy. Anyway, if you want to undermine the US, you would encourage more lawyers as they seem to be the ultamate undermining force now that they resonate through the government. More waistful beuracracy and government spending.

 

[SY]

If you come back here, try to look not like a foreginer or a rich man, otherwise you will attract the attention of every theft in the country.

Believe me, I do not look rich.

 

[CBS240]

You will hardly ever find yourself facing an assault or a gun here (there are very few guns and most of them are actually plastic toys!!), our thefts are more clever than that, they will observe you carefully until you get distracted, then they will take all your stuff in a peaceful and silent way without you ever noticing. Also, they will abort the 'operation' and run away if you ever notice them, they won't face you nor use violence against you.

This behavior is excacly what gets people shot in this country. Everyone hates a thief. However here, the thieves run the risk of breaking into the wrong house where the owner has a gun and the right to blow them away. He might have to abort the 'operation' because of a bullet. Oddly enough though I have been told by police officers that if they break inside your home to shoot to kill not mame even if they don't have a gun. This is because some scum layer will attempt to sue you on his behalf regardless of HIS crime of B & E.

BUT if he is dead, he can't sue.

 

[Eva]

On the other hand, two weeks ago, in a rather local neigborhood, some guys stole from a few stupid rednecks and they decided to commit a drive-by and ended up compleatly missing thier targets and killing a 19 year old girl who was trying to shield a 4-year old. Of course in this state, they still execute and hopefully will make a good example of these fools. But this is a very rare occurance aroung here.

Here we have laws against that. If you injure or kill a thieve, even in your own house or property, you will be judged as if you injured or killed anybody else. Citizens are not allowed to make justice on their own. The only things you are allowed to do are defending yourself if they attack you and holding them until police arrives. It's not the best solution but it avoids situations like the one that you have described.

Concerning violence: Don't you remember those children taking his father's guns and killing a dozen or two of other children in their schools? Unfortunately, that has happened several times in USA and those crazy children are your future. That's what I call violence, and believe me, it has never ever happened here and it's not likely to ever happen. We don't need metal detectors in the doors of our schools (fortunately).

 

[CBS240]

Update: Your beloved Bush has just said that he doesn't discard to attack Iran if they continue with their civilian-purpose nuclear program. Prepare for a new war even before the previous one has ended. Note that Iran has three times more population than Irak (70 million) and is four times bigger. Also, it has a 7 million-strong "Basiji" volunteer militia so several years of guerrilla and resistance are guaranteed (much stronger than currently on Iraq).

This is probably an unlikely event. This would be highly unpopular here. A bomb would have to go off here and be traced to the reactors and processes in Iran before that happens. I would say just a few "terrorist" acts on our behalf would work for a while. Since they sponsor terrorist acts, why not join in the game? Indescriminatly sink a couple of ships in thier harbors and use the UN to undermine thier economy. That would slow them down a bit.

There are many ways to have war, not on a battlefield.

 

[CBS240]

Here we have laws against that. If you injure or kill a thieve, even in your own house or property, you will be judged as if you injured or killed anybody else. Citizens are not allowed to make justice on their own. The only things you are allowed to do are defending yourself if they attack you and holding them until police arrives. It's not the best solution but it avoids situations like the one that you have described.

You don't think you would be in more danger if you tried to hold the attacker until police arrive withOUT using threat of deadly force?
The goal is to have police handle the situation, but you can keep better order if you have threat of deadly force until police arrive. You will be more successful if the perp thinks you are going to waste them. The goal is not to shoot the bad guy, or even shoot at all, but if I am in bed and someone breaks into my home, they are potentially threatening my life. Different situation.


Schools here are another thing. A fine example of the Government run social program. And of course their not going to acknowlege thier failiures. It is a government run program it never fails...

 

[Eva]

Terrorism is a very bad excuse now. Everybody in Europe knows that the CIA has terrorist training camps on all islamic countries and that your government has promoted terrorism for the past 40 years. We all also know about CIA 'terrorist adventures' in South America, helping several dictatorships to kill its own citizens (most of the retired terrorists are living in Miami now).

Also, bombing a civilian nuclear plant will be much like a new Hiroshima or Chernovil with hundreds of thousands of deaths. It would be just like bombing any nuclear plant in USA.

Also, your government has thousands of nuclear bombs ready to use on US and you have shown no intention of dismantling them. So, why couldn't Iran manufacture uranium for civilian usage? Note that the U.N. has already filled that plant with cameras and inspectors in order to make sure that it's not secretly used to manufacture weapons.

That's what most Europeans think now, so you are becoming even more unpopular thanks to your nice government.