What Americans, USAans, yanks, beleive.

[Michaelangelica]

The poll of 2,455 U.S. Americans adults conducted online between Nov. 7 and Nov. 13 found that

 

• 82 percent of adult Americans said they believe in God,
  
• 41 percent of respondents said they believe in ghosts,
  
• 35 percent said they believe in extraterrestrials
  
• roughly one-third of respondents said they believe in witches.
  
• 42 percent of accept Charles Darwin's theory of evolution
  
• 39 percent believe in creationism.
  
• 95 percent of born-again Christians believe in miracles,
  
• 87 percent of Catholics believe in miracles
  
• 89 percent of Protestants believe in miracles, .
  
• 92 percent of born-again Christians believe in hell,
  
• 75 percent of Catholics believe in hell,
  
• 78 percent of Protestants believe in hell,
  

Most Americans believe in God, ghosts - UPI.com

[ErlyRisa]

 

Now - you're from Oz and from everything I've heard (never been down under myself) your countrymen and countrywoman are the liveliest and best spirited folk around. So, please, don't think I'm comparing countries here. Besides, France would make such a better comparison :shrug:

 

-modest

 

Sadly not the case .... their seems to be somesort of artificial "Australia is Cool" bandwagon goin on around the world....

The Southern Help mentality only exists in ever so tiny portions in the rural districts of Australia. The suburbs and hence the overall majority of the population do not harbour such old worlde social manerisms. On the odd occasion you may be lucky enough to be at the end of such a higher class of ethics and manners... but it's usually from parts of the elderly population, or from some-one that has moved from rural upbringing to the suburbs.

 

-so what went wrong? We had a politician that tried to enlighten the people of Australia about it's plight and past (Pauline Hanson)... she was a bit of a fruit though.

 

Sadly it's a social virus that seems to spread from one piont... Los Angeles. and Europe. The LA commandeering know it all, yet don't give a toss about simple things mentality, and the European fighting for survival mentality. (and not to be racist, but thier are some strong influences from "minorities" - especially here in Australia)

 

Amazingly enough the "Average Joe" still exists in australia... but now they are more concerned with Facebook, and how much they donated to the save the whale fund, than wether or not they have the grace to not play thier playstation at 11pm with elderly neighbours.

 

Put it simply... I have a post around here somewhere that sums it all up...

 

http://hypography.com/forums/social-sciences/11124-guantanamo-bay-shame-you-united-states.html

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Can't trust our govt.

Can't trust the courts

Can't trust the police

 

We're spied on and screwed over by the govt. Our constitution and electoral process are merely window dressing. The police are either out to get you or want nothing to do with you. And If you want justice in our court system ya better have mucho deenero.

 

I wish to god the facade would crumble

that those that live here would shed their blinders and realise just how bad it's gotten and will get if corrective measures are not taken.

AND most importantly realise that the people we allow to hold office over us represent us to the world.

 

Looking at how our nation has handled things I'm surprised that the rest of the world hasn't threatened to wup our @$$e$!

 

It would be soooooooooooooo nice if the U.N. held war crimes trials in which Mr. Bush and his cohorts faced prosecution for their actions for their involvment in the war as well as lying to the world to justify them.

 

Followed by criminal charges for all that Uncle Sam has done to the American people...yup that's what we need... HELP....Come on world America (well what's left of it) needs you....If a govt. won't listen to it's own people and interacts with the rest of the world in a beligerant manner it's the rest of the world's job to put it back in it's place and punish those responcible!!!

[Mike C]

Can't trust our govt.

Can't trust the courts

Can't trust the police

 

We're spied on and screwed over by the govt. Our constitution and electoral process are merely window dressing. The police are either out to get you or want nothing to do with you. And If you want justice in our court system ya better have mucho deenero.

 

I wish to god the facade would crumble

that those that live here would shed their blinders and realise just how bad it's gotten and will get if corrective measures are not taken.

AND most importantly realise that the people we allow to hold office over us represent us to the world.

 

Looking at how our nation has handled things I'm surprised that the rest of the world hasn't threatened to wup our @$$!

 

It would be soooooooooooooo nice if the U.N. held war crimes trials in which Mr. Bush and his cohorts faced prosecution for their actions for their involvment in the war as well as lying to the world to justify them.

 

Followed by criminal charges for all that Uncle Sam has done to the American people...yup that's what we need... HELP....Come on world America (well what's left of it) needs you....If a govt. won't listen to it's own people and interacts with the rest of the world in a beligerant manner it's the rest of the world's job to put it back in it's place and punish those responcible!!!

 

Don't blame the government.

The source of this evil is the 'greed' of capitalism.

 

This can be easily rectified if the electoral system was run by the government dollars only instead of the corruptive influence monies by the wealthy.

 

Our government officials were 'brain washed' by the capitalists to serve themselves and the capitalists.

 

Mind you, I am not condemning all capitalism but only those that use dollars as a 'drug'(?).

 

Mike C

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Regardless of the cause you still can't trust 'em.

 

Besides they're just as guilty of manipulating the system as the various deep pocketed individuals that buy them off.

[Mike C]

Regardless of the cause you still can't trust 'em.

 

Besides they're just as guilty of manipulating the system as the various deep pocketed individuals that buy them off.

 

One of the main reasons why I criticise capitalism is because they are driving our economy into bankruptcy.

 

Their incessant greed of helping themselves to all the wealth and fueling the tax rebellion is creating a massive budget deficit that could lead to our federal governments bankruptcy as well as some corporate bankruptcies,

 

Our dollar has shrunk to about 60% of its pre-Bush era value in the world exchange rates.

 

So while our job markets and workers wages are shrinking and our commodity prices in the US are escalating, this is not good economics.

 

And who is going to buy the houses, autos and other such tangible expensive goods?

 

EDIT:

The Chinese or the Mexican?

/EDIT

 

You can also include the robots that do not buy either.

 

So this is an example of capitalisms stupidity.

 

For a thriving healthy economy, you need to SHARE THE WEALTH!

 

And another thing, UNIONS are mandated by our Constitution as representing the workers.

And who would be more deserving to have more wealth that they produce?

The workers, of course!

 

Mike C

 

I forgot, BUY AMERICAN!

[modest]

EDITTED:

The Chinese or the Mexican?

/EDIT

 

Removed are racial slurs. Perhaps you can make your point without degrading other races. If not, then just don't make your point because people don't want to hear your racism.

 

And another thing, UNIONS are mandated by our Constitution as representing the workers.

 

Exactly where in the US constitution or Bill of Rights does it mention labor unions or workers?

 

- modest

[Mike C]

"Removed" are racial slurs. Perhaps you can make your point without degrading other races. If not, then just don't make your point because people don't want to hear your racism.

 

OK. Maybe I did kind of degrade them a bit since they are workers.

In the case of the Chinese, they are used by the communist government that way as cheap labor.

Regarding the Mexican workers, they are 'illegals' and should be sent back to Mexico. The fact that they flee Mexico is proof that the problem is in Mexico.

 

Exactly where in the US constitution or Bill of Rights does it mention labor unions or workers?

 

- modest

 

Our US Constitution mandates a representative government. So the US workers are citizens that deserve direct representation, IMO.

 

On the other hand, where do you see anything in our CN about corporate representation?

These are 'self serving' individual operatives that have no respect for the workers, environment, our US CN or who they do business with.

 

There are some capitalists that do treat the workers with respect but they are a small minority.

 

Mike C

[Michaelangelica]

Regarding the Mexican workers, they are 'illegals' and should be sent back to Mexico. The fact that they flee Mexico is proof that the problem is in Mexico.

 

There are enough anxieties in the American-born work force to spur a great deal of immigrant bashing. Given all of this anxiety, a lot of—our representatives in Congress—senators in Congress, could not come up with a deal that would more or less anger everybody just a bit. And please everybody just a tiny bit enough to craft a compromise.

. . .

REICH: When you have something, Maria, that causes—stirs up so much emotion on—both sides of the political aisle—where the such strong positions all over the map—the easiest thing for politicians to do is to do nothing. So I would expect if—this immigration bill really does go down to defeat—we're not going to see any further attempts at immigration reform for some time.

. . .

HINOJOSA: So what do we do about these—perhaps 12 million people who are living here without papers?

 

REICH: I hate the idea of having a whole—vast group of second-class residents of America—in terms of—undocumented workers. I don't like the consequences. I don't like the exploitation. I—I don't like the hypocrisy of America—doing that. Employers getting the employees they want.

 

Middle-class people getting the child care and elder care workers they want. At the same time, us being very pious about—securing our borders. And yet—that may be the way that we deal with this. By doing nothing. By living with our hypocrisy.

. . .

REICH: In the short-term, new immigrants tend to be low-skilled and low-waged—whether they're here legally or illegally. And they do tend to depress the wages of American-born, low-skill, low-wage workers. The—the studies are a little bit all over the map.

 

But the studies tend to center around five percent. That is there is about a five percent decrease in the wages of native-born Americans who are in the low-wage market. But that fails to account for the long-term. What we know about immigrant is that the longer they're here, the better they do.

. . .

REICH: If we enforced our labor laws adequately, if we had enough inspectors, if we said—"Look, no employer is going to pay anybody lower than the minimum wage, nobody is going to treated in an unfair, unsafe, unhealthy environment—in terms of their workplace—" we would immediately reduce the magnet of all of these jobs to very low-wage, low-skill workers. And if enforced our labor laws, there wouldn't be those jobs.

. . .

We have to acknowledge that most of us are the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grand—grandchildren of—of immigrants who came here—like this wave of immigrants. And our ancestors—many of them were penniless. Many of them didn't have much education. I know that my great-grandparents came to New York—without anything. They were illiterate. And we've got to understand that that's the story of America.

 

Robert Reich: Last Chance for Immigration Reform? . Transcript | NOW on the News - PBS

I was very impressed with this guy when he came to Australia last year

Don Dunstan Foundation | Professor Robert Reich

"That means we are all going to experience huge pressures for

immigration from developing nations to developed nations.

In the United States this has become a point of social tension.

We have a lot of immigrants, both legal and illegally in the United States, from Latin America, from south east Asia. Many of them lack skills.

Some of them who are there illegally are causing a great deal of soul searching by Americans who fear that those people, those new immigrants, are taking away our jobs or reducing our wages. It’s not the case, by the way.

Those people are filling a very different labour market. They are doing jobs that most Americans would not want to do. They are not competing for the same jobs.

 

But nevertheless, they are convenient scapegoats for demi-gods who want to blame immigrants for stagnating wages."

http://www.dunstan.org.au/docs/Robert_Reich_Transcript.pdf

[Zythryn]

One of the main reasons why I criticise capitalism is because they are driving our economy into bankruptcy.

 

Anything to back this up?

 

Their incessant greed of helping themselves to all the wealth and fueling the tax rebellion is creating a massive budget deficit that could lead to our federal governments bankruptcy as well as some corporate bankruptcies,

 

Nonsense. Our deficit is due to overspending. This has a number of causes including pork barrel spending, lack of fiscal restraint, wars and subsidies to those that don't need it. Oh, and unsustainable structures such as medicare.

 

Our dollar has shrunk to about 60% of its pre-Bush era value in the world exchange rates.

 

The above would casually support your hypothesis that capitalists are ruining our economy IF our economic structure were not capitalistic before Bush. Is that your claim?

 

So while our job markets and workers wages are shrinking and our commodity prices in the US are escalating, this is not good economics.

 

You do realize that much of the job market was created by capitalists?

 

And another thing, UNIONS are mandated by our Constitution as representing the workers.

And who would be more deserving to have more wealth that they produce?

The workers, of course!

 

The workers already have representation. Their congressmen, and senators. I agree there is corruption at that level and that should be weeded out. But that is the representation the constitution speaks of.

 

I forgot, BUY AMERICAN!

Hehe, whole 'nother topic, but if you talk of cars, which is more American, a toyota built in Tennessee or a Ford built in Mexico?

(If you wish to discuss this, lets start it as a new topic?)

[DougF]

Zythryn

Hehe' date=' whole 'nother topic, but if you talk of cars, which is more American, a toyota built in Tennessee or a Ford built in Mexico?

(If you wish to discuss this, lets start it as a new topic?) [/quote']

Good question B)

[Michaelangelica]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike C View Post

I forgot, BUY AMERICAN!

Hehe, whole 'nother topic, but if you talk of cars, which is more American, a toyota built in Tennessee or a Ford built in Mexico?

(If you wish to discuss this, lets start it as a new topic?)

from my point of view , living down here-(or up there depending on your POV) in the world's largest open cut mine it is impossible to find almost anything wholly manufactured here, or owned by someone born here.

Perhaps you live in hope that a bit you dug up comes back as an Indian made Mercedes or Jaguar or a German owned Mitsubishi?

You also hope you can keep digging up enough stuff to pay for it.

 

Prof Robert reich had a funny story about this (I mentioned him last post)

http://www.dunstan.org.au/docs/Robert_Reich_Transcript.pdf

. . .

Because more and more this technology of globalisation, this integration, means that what we think is an American or Australian or any other company actually turns out to be a global company, with supplies and components coming from all over the world.

Years ago when I was secretary of Labor, my car died. I needed to get a new car. I went to the local dealer in Washington DC; a very good dealer. I found a Toyota that perfectly met my needs.

I didn’t buy it yet. I went back to my office and my assistant for political matters said in a very humble and very sycophantic way, the way somepolitical assistants occasionally do – you probably don’t have any of those people – said

"Mr Secretary, I understand you’re going to buy a Toyota. But let me remind you, you are secretary of Labor of the United States, and maybe you should think about buying a big three car; General Motors, Chrysler, Ford."

And I immediately saw the wisdom of this young person’s political insight.

And I went the next day to a Ford dealership – you can’t get more American than a Ford

– and I found a car that was almost as good as the Toyota. And I remember on the floor of the showroom before I bought it, I asked the dealer, I said I know this is an American car, it has an American nameplate, but I need to know from you was this car actually made here in America by Americans. And he looked at me for a long instant, trying to decide, was I one of those or was I one of those. And finally he looked up with a smile

and said, which would you prefer?

Because in fact all cars are made of components that are coming from all over the world;

:shrug:

. . .

. . .

And the reality is wages, yes, are lower in China and India and various places in the developing world. But it’s not all about wages. Wages are only part of the equation.

It’s also about skills and about productivity and about the infrastructure that surrounds people.

I had my hips replaced a number of years ago; both hips. I wish I could show them to you; they’re beautiful hips. They’re really corrosion resistant steel topped with a little plastic coating; they’re beautiful hips. But I was talking about globalisation in these terms, and I realised I had not made a very important inquiry; and that was where my beautiful new hips actually came from. A kind of existential doubt I had suddenly, and I went back to the hospital in Boston, Women’s Hospital, where they were installed. And

I discovered after somebody rifled around some files, that my lovely new hips were actually fabricated in Germany. That’s not a low wage jurisdiction; that’s a high wage.

Germany is one of the major exporters in the world, not because of low wages, but because of high skills. If it were all about low wages, my hips would have been made in Bangladesh.

And by the way, my beautiful hips were actually designed – they were fabricated in Germany, they were actually designed in France. I have French designer hips.

:doh:

 

I wonder where, or even if global companies decide to pay taxes? Lichtenstein?

[Mike C]

Angelica:

 

You are right. The New World Order should pay taxes to the United Nations and to the World Court because they are enjoying the global freedom that the UN is trying to police in cooporation with the WC as an enforcer of this freedom.

 

Do you think they would agree to pay taxes to these two agencies?

I doubt it since they are seated in the drivers seat.

That is why they are stuffing themselves with those billion dollar incomes after buying the various governments with their corrupt dollars.

 

Mike C

[Mike C]

Robert Reich: Last Chance for Immigration Reform? . Transcript | NOW on the News - PBS

I was very impressed with this guy when he came to Australia last year

Don Dunstan Foundation | Professor Robert Reich

 

http://www.dunstan.org.au/docs/Robert_Reich_Transcript.pdf

 

Well, I guess the popes and Islams plans for conquest is to spill over ones excess populations into the surrounding democracies and breed like mini-bombs to take over the democracy with their numbers (votes).

 

Bye bye nature.

 

I predict that in the distant future, there will be just one specie left and that is people.

 

Mike C

[Mike C]

Anything to back this up?

 

See below.

 

Nonsense. Our deficit is due to overspending. This has a number of causes including pork barrel spending, lack of fiscal restraint, wars and subsidies to those that don't need it. Oh, and unsustainable structures such as medicare.

 

You forgot the welfare the corporations are getting by refusing to pay a fair share of their taxes and brain washing the government officials to serve them selves. So the pork barrel expenditures are their way of staying in office.

Medicare is needed with the lack of paying for the diseases that the workers have gotten in the mines and other such diseases in the workplaces creating the dollars the capitalist get with their inflated incomes..

 

The above would casually support your hypothesis that capitalists are ruining our economy IF our economic structure were not capitalistic before Bush. Is that your claim?

 

What preceded Bush was the Reagan/Bush, Sr promotion of the NWO that Clinton also contributed to because of the campaign dollars he was collecting Besides, it is the inventors and their start up industries that create the jobs besides the government jobs that exist for its operations.

 

You do realize that much of the job market was created by capitalists?

 

No. All the capitalists did was contribute dollars as an investment to make fat profits from that new industry.

Of course, the government provided the monopoly (patents) to create these riches for the benefactors.

 

The workers already have representation. Their congressmen, and senators. I agree there is corruption at that level and that should be weeded out. But that is the representation the constitution speaks of.

 

Yes, that is the representaion that capitalism and the conservatives have been attacking as welfare for the workers(?).

 

Hehe, whole 'nother topic, but if you talk of cars, which is more American, a toyota built in Tennessee or a Ford built in Mexico?

(If you wish to discuss this, lets start it as a new topic?)

 

This has already been discussed enough by you and Angelica that is time cosuming for me to continue.

 

Mike C

[Michaelangelica]

The very rich (people) don't need to pay tax any more.

There is six trillion in offshore accounts 2 in Switzerland, 2 in UK (Channel islands Caribbean) and 2 "others" Lichtenstein?:)

 

If the US$ goes belly up, buy gold . (I can remember when it was $35 an ounce.)

 

Corporations wield enormous power over governments with regard to development of natural resources, employment, political and other corrupt donations.

As they are multi-multi-multi-national they can buy from themselves at inflated prices, thus making a Tax Loss in one country. Perhaps they might even be given a government handout. We gave Chevron Mobile 60 million last year -(for them tea money- but why?).

 

We are continually bailing out the car industry and even Kodak a few years ago. (It then went belly -up).

Corporations can afford the best lawyers and accountants. It has taken years and years for Oz to get James Hardy to compensate the many people it gave long lingering deaths to with asbestos. In the meantime JH moved off-shore.

 

Dow still has not compensated the Indian people whose lives they destroyed in India (Barcopal? then Union Carbide?). Despite a revolt from shareholders about their stingy attitude.

No one is even bothering to sue them here for poisoning Sydney Harbour and Sydney fishermen and fish eaters.

 

I am amazed at the huge corporate salaries being paid now even if you stuff things up badly. they seem to get bigger and biger and more obscene every year. I wish I had the same 'old school tie'.

(The CitiBank CEO/guy who lost 10 Billion got how many millions in a 'golden parachute")

 

Yep its all not nice. I have no answers.

[Mike C]

Angelica:

 

The last I remenber was that gold was worth $300 an ounce.

Now recently here I read that it is now selling for $900 an ounce.

 

Mike C