will the US military power dominate the world

Chad Irby wrote in message om...
In article , "IO"
wrote:

BUFDRVR wrote:
EU standard of life is at less equal of the USA one.

After having recently spent 10 days in western Europe, I'll disagree
using one example; fuel prices. The cost of both gas and diesel in
Germany, France, Luxemburg and Belgium was *3-4 times higher*

Fuel price=TAXES= social assistance=better standard of life

Except that doesn't really follow. All that really means is that the
European governments have more of your money.

Europeans car uses less fuel than american ones. Medium european car
engine=1400cc medium usa car engine=2000 cc= a lot of more fuel.
Europeans do less kilometers per year than an americans.

So they have a lower standard of living when it comes to personal
transportation.


yeah... this is probably the clearest example for Europeans of the
low standard of living for Americans... you simply cannot live
without a car...
You are forced to sit in your home without being able to go anywhere.
Unless you want to make yourself the trouble of bringing your car with
you, that is.

Chad Irby wrote in message om...
"Franck" wrote:

Jealousy of what ?? of American way of life !!! let me laugh

Better pay, more freedom, less government...

Manwhile, in the EU, less of the first two and more of the third.


uhm... the EU does have far too much government... but not nearly as
much as the US...

In the EU (unlike the US) you don't have to make a written application
in three copies plus pay and administrative fee before getting
permission to go to your toilet, for instance.
At least that example isn't *that* far from the truth when it comes to
the situaiton in the US.

On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:35:53 +0100, ess (phil hunt)
wrote:



Are you saying that privacy is a bad thing ?

It's neither good nor bad.


I vehemently disagree, privacy is a fundamental human right.

Campaign contributions in the US are clearly visible at election time

So corruption is OK as long as you know it's going on?

Thats *not* what I said and you well know it.



greg

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The Following is a true story.....
Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 09:49:50 +0100, Greg Hennessy wrote:
On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:35:53 +0100, ess (phil hunt)
wrote:
Are you saying that privacy is a bad thing ?

It's neither good nor bad.

I vehemently disagree, privacy is a fundamental human right.

If I do something illegal, do I have a fundamental human right for
others not to find out?

What about if I do something that's not illegal, but which many
people would be concerned about if they knew it? Do they have a
right to know?

Campaign contributions in the US are clearly visible at election time

So corruption is OK as long as you know it's going on?

Thats *not* what I said and you well know it.

No, I don't know it; AFAICT that's what you meant. To clarify, let
me ask you:

a. is it OK for someone to donate a few pounds to a politician?

b. is it OK for someone to donate a few million pounds to a
politician?

c. is it OK for someone to donate a few million pounds to a
politician, and then subsequently for the politician to pass laws
that make the donor richer?

d. does the answer to (b) make any difference if the money comes
from a business (where not all the shareholders necessarily agree
with the donation) rather than an individual?

e. do the answers to (a) and (b) differ if the donation is to a
group of politicians, such as a party, rather than an individual?

f. what about when businesses donate to politicians through a
go-between fund in an (apparent) attempt to disguise what they are
doing?

g. what about when a politician, say a cabinet minister, makes
decisions that favour a company, and then after the politician
retires the company gives him a well-paid consultancy or
non-executive directorship?

h. should companies that donate to politicians be obliged to state
so on the packaging of their prodcuts, so consumers can choose
to buy or not buy them if they wish to?

--
"It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than
people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia
(Email: , but first subtract 275 and reverse
the last two letters).

In article ,
Greg Hennessy nntp wrote:
On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 16:46:28 -0500, Alan Minyard
wrote:

I have a *very* average Ford Taurus station-wagon, and it has a 3
Liter engine. Quite safe and comfortable.

I know of one european country where the annual tax (I believe you call it
car tags in your neck of the woods) on a car with a 3 Litre engine would be
round 1500 USD.

OTOH the car tax in .uk on my car and its 3-litre engine is zero (0).
Pre-'73 and thus tax-exempt

OT, I know..

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Time has stopped, says the Black Lion clock
and eternity has begun" (Dylan Thomas)

"ANDREW ROBERT BREEN" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Greg Hennessy nntp wrote:
On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 16:46:28 -0500, Alan Minyard
wrote:

I have a *very* average Ford Taurus station-wagon, and it has a 3
Liter engine. Quite safe and comfortable.

I know of one european country where the annual tax (I believe you call
it
car tags in your neck of the woods) on a car with a 3 Litre engine would
be
round 1500 USD.

OTOH the car tax in .uk on my car and its 3-litre engine is zero (0).
Pre-'73 and thus tax-exempt

OT, I know..

And the *top* rate of Road Tax on UK cars is GBP165 pa.

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/taxation.htm#Private

Never let the facts get in the way of a good anti-European rant though!

And I do agree that UK road fuel is too expensive...

John

"ANDREW ROBERT BREEN" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Greg Hennessy nntp wrote:
On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 16:46:28 -0500, Alan Minyard
wrote:

I have a *very* average Ford Taurus station-wagon, and it has a 3
Liter engine. Quite safe and comfortable.

I know of one european country where the annual tax (I believe you call
it
car tags in your neck of the woods) on a car with a 3 Litre engine would
be
round 1500 USD.

OTOH the car tax in .uk on my car and its 3-litre engine is zero (0).
Pre-'73 and thus tax-exempt

OT, I know..


Really ?

Maybe its time to buy a Rover 3.5 Coupe after all

Keith

On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 14:58:48 +0100, ess (phil hunt)
wrote:


I vehemently disagree, privacy is a fundamental human right.

If I do something illegal, do I have a fundamental human right for
others not to find out?

That's a logical fallacy.

What about if I do something that's not illegal, but which many
people would be concerned about if they knew it? Do they have a
right to know?

If its none of their damned business they have *no* right to know, no
matter how 'concerned' these interfering busybodies may be.

Campaign contributions in the US are clearly visible at election time

So corruption is OK as long as you know it's going on?

Thats *not* what I said and you well know it.

No, I don't know it; AFAICT that's what you meant. To clarify, let
me ask you:


[Snip another false dilemma]

You cannot claim that campaign contributions are morally equivalent to the
corrupt taking of bribes and overt attempts to destroy evidence and any
attempt at investigation of it.



greg



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$ReplyAddress =~ s#\@.*$##; # Delete everything after the '@'
The Following is a true story.....
Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

In article ,
John Mullen wrote:
"ANDREW ROBERT BREEN" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Greg Hennessy nntp wrote:
I know of one european country where the annual tax (I believe you call
it
car tags in your neck of the woods) on a car with a 3 Litre engine would
be
round 1500 USD.

OTOH the car tax in .uk on my car and its 3-litre engine is zero (0).
Pre-'73 and thus tax-exempt

OT, I know..

And the *top* rate of Road Tax on UK cars is GBP165 pa.

Which isn't exactly punitive, but it's always nice to not pay at all

And I do agree that UK road fuel is too expensive...

Not at all sure I do, though it does make me pause to reflect before
filling a 20-gallon tank.

At least my car, unlike its military aviation namesake, doesn't leak
fuel all over the place (the Supermarine Scimitar was notorious for
that).

Desperately trying to introduce some r.a.m topic into the thread.

--
Andy Breen ~ Interplanetary Scintillation Research Group
http://users.aber.ac.uk/azb/
"Time has stopped, says the Black Lion clock
and eternity has begun" (Dylan Thomas)

(Marcus Andersson) wrote:

uhm... the EU does have far too much government... but not nearly as
much as the US...

Tell that to the European, UK, Canadian and Australian friends of mine
who immigrated to the U.S. so as to enjoy our MUCH greater freedoms
and opportunities.

In the EU (unlike the US) you don't have to make a written application
in three copies plus pay and administrative fee before getting
permission to go to your toilet, for instance.

If it's such a piece o' cake to go to the toilet over there, then why
do so many Europeans smell like they haven't bathed or brushed
their teeth in months?

At least that example isn't *that* far from the truth when it comes to
the situaiton in the US.

Apparently the situation in Europe is a desperate lack of fresh
water that requires all the wussified little folk of perfume-creators
to walk around with body odors and make love to women with
hairy legs and armpits. Ohh babee!

yeah... this is probably the clearest example for Europeans of the
low standard of living for Americans... you simply cannot live
without a car...

Huh? You're the first person I've ever heard say that having an
automobile or two (or three or four...) equates to a "low standard
of living." Thanks for informing me of this revelation, but I still
won't be trading in my dependable Chevy for five year's worth
of unlimited rides on the state-subsidized public transit system
anytime soon.

You are forced to sit in your home without being able to go anywhere.
Unless you want to make yourself the trouble of bringing your car with
you, that is.

1) If you don't understand why Americans opted for "motorcars" and
cheap oil instead of European-style public transportation, then you're
either incredibly naive and ignorant or just plain stupid. Simply
because motorcars are an unnecessary pain to YOU (as parking is
difficult even with your dinky and slow little econoboxes that you
drive over there not to mention your narrow, one-way streets that
appear unpredictably out of nowhere) doesn't mean that we have the
same problem here in the states. And as it has already been mentioned,
a paltry gallon of "petrol" doesn't cost us $5.56 here in the U.S.
either. ****...no wonder you dislike "motorcars" so much!

2) We don't necessarily need an automobile, er' "motorcar" to go
anywhere. I've used other modes of transportation to get from
point 'A' to point 'B' including taking buses and trains that you
Europeans are so fond of using. Granted, there is somewhat
of a stigma attached to utilizing public transportation (esp. buses)
here in the U.S., but the fact remains that we don't necessarily
need a "motorcar" to go places.

3) Almost every day I use my electric bicycle (designed by Lee
Iacocca) to zip around town while running errands. The level of
workmanship is typically American -- very good quality components
and hugely stylish. But guess what Marcus, due to your oppressive and
draconian laws, my innovative and practical "ebike" is illegal in
Europe and Canada simply because it has a 500 watt motor!

4) Amazingly, in the UK, Europe and Canada any bicycle with more
than a 250-watt motor is outlawed because A) your government doesn't
want y'all to have too much fun and B) any bicycle powered by more
than 250-watts becomes a viable mode of transportation and therefore
must be registered and....you guessed it: TAXED.

5) The way I figure it, Marcus, life is too short to let the *******s
making all the laws get what they want all the time. Be a rebel,
push the envelope, make the traffic cop in the Vauxhall think his
"motorcar" has slowed down as you pass him on your stealthy
"cheater bike" without even pedalling. Now THAT is the American
Way!