Bush Did It Right - Page 2

#16 03-19-2006, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landshark

i wasn't attacking you, but do you have anything to contribute that DOESN'T involve George Bush?

didn't think so.

Well.. let's see... lately I've posted about summer tires, discussed group behaviour from a sociological perspective, talked about the role of children in warfare, Canada's role in Afghanistan, problems that Wiccans are having with the Defence Dept in getting their religious symbol recognised, posted an announcement of the southern Germany Subaru meet in April, wrote about my puppy which is still missing and how we're searching, posted a link to a video about a Moose ending up on the front passenger seat ...

None of these things have to do with Bush.

Now back to the topic at hand.... got any success stories you'd like to share?

YellowBird · #17 03-19-2006, 09:07 PM

ok guys.....

Bipa knows that 99% of us over here are not happy campers or should I say 57% according to the most recent polls cause we all know how accurate those farking polls are.....and he's just rubbing our noses in it.

And that's fine cause one day the tide will turn and we can rip him on something.

Come on show that American good spirit and resolve.

Manarius · #18 03-19-2006, 09:11 PM

He's brought honor back to the White House!

Umm. Business has been thriving under this administration because it won't regulate it. So, I guess you could consider that a good?

AppStateSVX · #19 03-19-2006, 09:13 PM

Hey Bipa, who ended up winning the German elections? There was TONS of talk while I was there last summer about how much they hated Schroder (I know I didn't spell it right) Did they end up electing someone else?

Landshark · #20 03-19-2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YellowBird

ok guys.....

Bipa knows that 99% of us over here are not happy campers or should I say 57% according to the most recent polls cause we all know how accurate those farking polls are.....and he's just rubbing our noses in it.

And that's fine cause one day the tide will turn and we can rip him on something.

Come on show that American good spirit and resolve.

Bipa is a "she".

we could talk about the quality of Canadian healthcare, or the prevalence anti-semitism/anti-Americanism in Germany today....

YellowBird · #21 03-19-2006, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manarius

He's brought honor back to the White House!

You're kidding aren'tcha?

AppStateSVX · #22 03-19-2006, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landshark

Bipa is a "she".

we could talk about the quality of Canadian healthcare, or the prevalence anti-semitism/anti-Americanism in Germany today....

When I was over there, most of the Germans loved meeting me, even If I was American. they HATED Bush though

#23 03-19-2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppStateSVX

Hey Bipa, who ended up winning the German elections? There was TONS of talk while I was there last summer about how much they hated Schroder (I know I didn't spell it right) Did they end up electing someone else?

OK... I'll bite

Yup... it was a bit of a mess. Shroeder's Party didn't get enough votes to be able to form his traditional coalition, which sent all the Parties scrambling to form new alliances. The German multi-party system is very different from the US way of forming a government. In the end, Germany got its first female Chancellor - Angela Merkel.

Merkel is considered a conservative by German standards, but she's still pretty left-ish in my view. There's this big wasteland in Germany between the left-of-centre and the extreme right-wing extremists. Because of history, folks here are afraid to swing to the right and always stay left of centre.

I suppose you could draw a comparison to how history has affected politics in both Germany and the USA. For Germans, being right-wing is considered bad - too close to Nazism. For many US folk, being left-wing is considered bad - too close to Communism.

Both attitudes are rediculous in my opinion. The majority of ordinary people are most comfortable in the middle, drawing upon aspects of both the right and the left.

#24 03-19-2006, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landshark

Bipa is a "she".

we could talk about the quality of Canadian healthcare, or the prevalence anti-semitism/anti-Americanism in Germany today....

Why don't you start a thread about that, and I'll jump right in

AppStateSVX · #25 03-19-2006, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bipa

OK... I'll bite

Yup... it was a bit of a mess. Shroeder's Party didn't get enough votes to be able to form his traditional coalition, which sent all the Parties scrambling to form new alliances. The German multi-party system is very different from the US way of forming a government. In the end, Germany got its first female Chancellor - Angela Merkel.

no, no, don't take me wrong, I wasn't trying to start something, I was honestly wondering what happened. My German teacher tried to explain things to us, but that was last semester, and the situation hadn't been resolved yet. Is the German economy getting any better?

#26 03-19-2006, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppStateSVX

no, no, don't take me wrong, I wasn't trying to start something, I was honestly wondering what happened. My German teacher tried to explain things to us, but that was last semester, and the situation hadn't been resolved yet. Is the German economy getting any better?

Darn it.. you might not be trying to start something, but I certainly am

The German economy... well, I guess it really depends on your perspective. The inexperienced, uneducated or unskilled people continue to have a tough time. Companies continue to cut workers and streamline operations - often by moving production to cheaper third-world countries. Pretty much a similar situation as in the US right now. The difference lies in the extreme amounts of red-tape in Germany that strangles small entrepreneurs. People here still haven't figured out that government doesn't create jobs - its the private sector that actually creates new jobs and new wealth. Government just re-allocates wealth without creating any new money (unless they decide to just print up a big stack and to heck with the consequences

)

There are other long-term factors which are affecting the economy. Re-unification continues to cost huge sums of money, and the new reparations to Israel on behalf of the former Eastern-Germany (which never paid any before) is also taking a big chunk of money out of the system. Then there's the whole European Union situation which is also costing big bucks.

If this new gov't is serious about cutting costs and getting a handle on the deficit, then we're in for more strikes and even higher unemployment. I believe the national average is around 11% at the moment, but parts of former East-Germany are well over 25%.

In the end, Germany needs a complete overhaul. They could start by finally getting a constitution. Believe it or not, Germany is still being run according to the "Basic Law" written up by the Allies after WWII.

Oh.. well... was a nice hijack

Hmm...

AppStateSVX · #27 03-19-2006, 10:10 PM

Yeah, when I visited over the summer, the difference between East and West was tremendous, economy wise. I hope everything gets fixed soon, I love your country