Saffire

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxonIjq5A2Y]Asobi Seksu - Strawberries (Ulrich Schnauss Remix) - YouTube[/ame]

Police in the US are generally very authoritarian. Also this October 15 thing scares me, because of the emphasis on the words "global" and "democracy". These are two elite memes used to encourage the masses to grant governments more power. Global solutions are never positive (see: the EU, UN, etc). What we need is a return to decentralization. The private bankers are the "fall guys" for governments now. They are blaming them for the problems created by the central banks, which are the real culprits in this mess. So if you attend the October 15 rally, hold signs that say things like: "End the Euro", "Germany out of the EU", "Stop Bailing Out Banks With Our Money"

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.” ― Alexis de Tocqueville

Haha, I love you Gazebofloss. And the way to topple the "moneyed interests" is to topple the central banks. It's honestly that simple.

lol I was wondering about this, because as an American, the only thing I know about Slough is it's where Ricky Gervais set "The Office", and it's supposed to be a boring city with dim-witted people.

The fascinating thing about Obama is how easily he could have gone down in history as a great president, yet he didn't do it. He could have fulfilled his promise to bring the troops home. He could have cut taxes. He could have announced an end to bailouts. He could have ended the failed "war on drugs". And he could have done all this before lunch on his first day in office. Instead he did the opposite of everything listed here. He totally blew it.

I disagree. America currently fits the definition of a fascist state. I can list a few examples off the top of my head: 1. Millions of peaceful people imprisoned for lengthy terms (even life) for using drugs. There are more black men in prison today in the US than black slaves in the 1700's. 2. Obama murdered two American citizens using a drone without due process or giving them a trial. The government has never revealed the evidence that supposedly exists against them. (Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan) 3. A direct violation of the US constitution saying that gold and silver are to be money (the existence of the Federal Reserve, which enables the government to debase the currency while outlawing settlements of debts in alternative currencies). 4. Multi-trillion dollar wars that never end. Currently the US has around 170 military bases sprinkled all over the world. 5. Authoritarian police who regularly brutalize civilians without repercussions. A good website documenting bad cops in the US is copblock.org 6. "Bailouts" for failing businesses. This is the textbook definition of fascism. Mussolini himself described it as a marriage between government and big business. So no, I don't think it's over-the-top to describe America as fascist at all. It's quite appropriate.

Well there are disadvantages to every country, obviously, but I'm critical of America now because it's heading pretty quickly toward fascism. That could be reversed, and I hope it is. But I doubt it.

Well yeah, I just feel like Europeans are treated with more respect by their governments. A great example of this is the airports. The airport in Denmark was a pleasure to pass through. I was treated kindly and everyone was very helpful. The airport in the US was hellish. Dozens of highly-paid thugs bossing people around, telling them to take their shoes and belts off, stand in a scanner, throw away all their liquids, questioning you about where you're going, who you're meeting, what you're doing. Not allowed to use your cell phone here, not allowed to take pictures there. Don't stand in one place too long. They even had one guy whose only job was to stand around telling people to smile and be happy. You know you're in a shitty situation when they actually have to TELL you to be happy.

Fox is the most-watched news channel in the US, and I think their peak viewing hours are between 2 and 3 million people. So only 1% of the total population, praise Allah. But that's still a lot. Also, demographics studies show that Fox has the oldest viewers - generally around 65 years old. So the commercials are all for various drugs and retirement homes and that sort of thing.

Haha yeah, to a degree. I think my opinion of Germany went up. But for the most part I knew Europe has some major advantages over the US: 1. Europeans aren't obsessed with religion like Americans are. Sure, there are a lot of Catholics who wet their pants when they see the Pope scuttle around waving his hand. But that's basically harmless compared to the influence evangelical Christianity has on American politics. 2. Europeans aren't obsessed with police and troops like Americans are. Maybe this is because of the World Wars. But the entire time I was in Copenhagen (4 days) I only saw two police. And in Berlin, I don't ever recall seeing one. The most police I saw was in Friedberg, Germany while the Pope was there. 3. Europe is generally less violent than America. I don't think this has to do with gun laws, I just think it's a cultural thing. Americans are saturated in a culture that glorifies violence, and men here are terrified of being called "gay" so they act hypermasculine to make up for it. European men don't have these same hangups.

Because it will end the global fiat monetary system that's impoverishing us. Central banks create economic discoordination by artificially changing interest rates, which creates recessions and depressions. Inflation is a regressive tax that mostly hurts the poor and middle classes. So ironically, an economic collapse would result in a massive increase in the quality of life for your average Joe. Suddenly all those trillions of dollars the government prints to give to banks and the military industrial complex would be held by the people again, except this time in the form of gold or some other tradable commodity rather than paper Federal Reserve notes.

This is really strange, they need to get their act together or risk losing a lot of customers. I wonder how it's affecting their stock price.

Ron Paul makes Republicans uncomfortable because he points out how utterly insane they are for supporting endless multi-trillion dollar wars and the elimination of individual rights. And then to top it all off, he outdoes them all when it comes to tax cuts - he actually proposes the complete elimination of the income tax. Of course, they'll likely choose Cain (a former Federal Reserve president) or Romney (corporatist shill). Ideally the economic collapse will happen before either of these buffoons is elected, but even then Americans will probably rush to the nearest "occupy Wall Street" protest and completely ignore the Federal Reserve and government spending.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WorClR-INVE]RON PAUL WINS STRAW POLL! So... Lets Talk About Herman Cain - YouTube[/ame] Just an example of the insane bias in American news. I thought our non-American friends would get a kick out of this.

Steve Jobs created so many jobs for people, and made our lives more fun and exciting with his products. We need more real businessmen like him, not just paper-pushers.

I'm suspicious of this protest and the "Adbusters" organization that started it. I believe it is an elite-driven outlet for peoples' frustrations to vent without getting too close to the real source of the problems: the Federal Reserve.

I live in South Carolina, in a city with high crime and corrupt police. The Euro will collapse, but the dollar will also collapse. The main difference is the Eurozone countries (some of them, like Germany) are in MUCH better fiscal shape than the US is. Germany already has many good manufacturing jobs and they export a lot. Liechtenstein and Switzerland use the Swiss Franc, so they're relatively safe. Denmark uses the Krone. When the US dollar collapses, we'll see a dramatic rise in poverty here. The price of food, gasoline, clothes, and all the basic necessities of life will skyrocket. And there will be violence.

The US is going downhill so fast, it's fascinating to watch. I was just in Europe recently, I went to Denmark, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. I felt safer and more free in all of these places than I do in the US (where I currently live). We have a culture that is preoccupied with war, police, troops, and religion. We are deeply indebted and our government prints money to stay solvent. It's only a short time before the system collapses, and I don't want to be here when it happens.

One cool way you can tell there's a hurricane nearby: it's unusually windy where I live now (South Carolina). Normally this would be one of those hot, stagnant late summer days, but everything smells fresher outside.

Eh, you guys will be fine. We deal with this stuff all the time in the South, and this hurricane isn't enough to cause serious damage. Once it hits land there will be enough friction to slow it down a bit.

"market-oriented" "economies" "voodoo economics" "fiscal stimulus" "fiscal discipline" "financial system" "stagnation" "depression" All of these terms need to be defined very specifically in order for them to have any scientific meaning. And this is the problem - it's not a science. It's a religion. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/bank-americas-dead-drop-rick-perry-we-will-help-you-out

This is why I have zero interest in ever visiting your country.

Chuck, watch this: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1F4tqhuIrI]Ron Paul: Corporations Are NOT People - YouTube[/ame] I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Precisely 40 years ago today... this is when CEO pay started to take off, and the class divide was created.