To all of you that say you would leave the country if Mc Cain won, I say save us the trouble of dealing with you now and leave. If your patriatism extends to who is in office, your not really an American anyway.
So GTFO now and stop taking up my free air and free speech.
Goto another country that allows you to say whatever you like about the current authorities without worry of reproach, harassment or retribution.
But thats right, you wouldnt leave even if we had voted Hitler in, because you know that if you moved out of OUR country (I capitalized that to show its not really yours) you wouldnt make it but a few months or years before you mouth got you in a jail or worse.
I guess thats the greatness behind our country is the ablility to freely speak our minds, isnt it. Just dont make threats you dont truly plan to keep.
I don't mean to be... well. I don't know. Provocative.
But you've never actually been out of America, have you?
beinseth doesn't have a very acurate picture of other countries, but he hit the nail on the head about the people HERE who say they would leave... they wouldn't... it's all talk, with nothing behind it.
Even the OP on this thread won't come back and defend his/her position.
Ireland, Germany, Japan, England, Kosovo, Mexico, Canada, Iraq, and soon to be Korea. I have been around, excluding England and Canada most of these countries still have stricter speech laws than the US. So yeah, I have been around the block.
To all of you that say you would leave the country if Mc Cain won, I say save us the trouble of dealing with you now and leave. If your patriatism extends to who is in office, your not really an American anyway.
So GTFO now and stop taking up my free air and free speech.
Goto another country that allows you to say whatever you like about the current authorities without worry of reproach, harassment or retribution.
But thats right, you wouldnt leave even if we had voted Hitler in, because you know that if you moved out of OUR country (I capitalized that to show its not really yours) you wouldnt make it but a few months or years before you mouth got you in a jail or worse.
I guess thats the greatness behind our country is the ablility to freely speak our minds, isnt it. Just dont make threats you dont truly plan to keep.
Oooo Errrr. Who's got a monopoly on "Freedom of Speech"?
America likes to talk about it without actually encouraging it, just as it loves to talk about "Democracy". I've never seen a people so keen to censor any criticism, outside of the Soviet Union.
In England you can walk down the street chanting 'The Queen is a Teutonic ho, death to Gordon Brown' and you'll end up in an advert for crisps. Elsewhere:
Quote:
Originally Posted by beinseth
Ireland
has no restrictions on freedom of speech.
Quote:
Originally Posted by beinseth
Germany
has no restrictions on freedom of speech
Quote:
Originally Posted by beinseth
Japan
has no restrictions on freedom of speech
Quote:
Originally Posted by beinseth
Mexico
appears to have problems
Quote:
Originally Posted by beinseth
Korea
has no restrictions on freedom of speech.
In point of fact, looking at this years'sWorld Index of Press Freedom, all of these nations, apart from Mexico, are higher than the United States, which comes in at 48 (one place above Togo and one place behind Nicaragua.
Here's the top 50, in case you're interested. Still a way to go.
It's odd that Canada is ranked higher than the US considering Canada has one of those bogus "human right commissions" that sits in judgement of content of publishers. Basically in Canada you can be hauled into court for publishing something politically incorrect.
Ireland, Germany, Japan, England, Kosovo, Mexico, Canada, Iraq, and soon to be Korea. I have been around, excluding England and Canada most of these countries still have stricter speech laws than the US. So yeah, I have been around the block.
really?? .. I can remember standing in the street in front of the parliment building listen to folks screaming at passers by... actually threatening insurrection and encouraging violence... yes, really! In todays environment, I really doubt you could get away with that in front of the US Capitol building... arrest would come quickly (or at the very least, one would be run off by the police.)
My experience (and the list is long, but distinguished) has been that most foreign countries allow people to speak pretty freely... until they actually start threatening other people or groups.
Ireland, Germany, Japan, England, Kosovo, Mexico, Canada, Iraq, and soon to be Korea. I have been around, excluding England and Canada most of these countries still have stricter speech laws than the US. So yeah, I have been around the block.
really?? .. I can remember standing in the street in front of the parliment building listen to folks screaming at passers by... actually threatening insurrection and encouraging violence... yes, really! In todays environment, I really doubt you could get away with that in front of the US Capitol building... arrest would come quickly (or at the very least, one would be run off by the police.)
My experience (and the list is long, but distinguished) has been that most foreign countries allow people to speak pretty freely... until they actually start threatening other people or groups.
With the proper permits for holding such an event, they would more likely send police to protect you from those that would want to hurt you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hardeeharhar
In the military presumably?
Ever make it off the base?
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to. The only issue I am aware of in the US, that restricts your freedom of speech is where it would cause a public panic, or in the case of slander.
And to Hassan, that list is probably as bogus as it gets. Its a list of PRESS freedom, not speech freedom, coming from the Press without borders. And how does this, "and the murder of Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August mean the United States is still unable to join the lead group."- source http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24022, have to do with press restrictions? I did alil of my own research and it appears that city and federal officials did everything they could to find his killers and had nothing to do with his death? And as far as those in Getmo go, my government does alot of stuff we know alil about. The fact of the matter is, the press wants us to treat them as civilians where it suits their needs, then bashes the military for not treating this more like a war. The enemy has no uniform and blends in with the populace. Unless you have some handy dandy peice of equipment that can tell the difference between a combatants and non-combatants, I find no fault in the US government holding those they feel are responsible behind the terrorist acts of 9/11
With the proper permits for holding such an event, they would more likely send police to protect you from those that would want to hurt you.
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to. The only issue I am aware of in the US, that restricts your freedom of speech is where it would cause a public panic, or in the case of slander.
And to Hassan, that list is probably as bogus as it gets. Its a list of PRESS freedom, not speech freedom, coming from the Press without borders. They are probably pissed at the US for restricting information about movements in and around Iraq, Afghanistan and just about anywhere else we have troops. With good reason, nothing worse than reporters in a combat zone.
Fantastic.
As we start to move into specifics regarding what actually constitutes "freedom of speech", it starts to turn out that whatever restrictions are happening in the US are right and proper and necessary and patriotic.
This is how it always works. "We're the freest most moral people in the world!" "What about this and this and this?" "Had to! Bad men forced our hand!"
"Bad men forced our hand" is, of course, the rallying cry for every despot that every was.
The massive police presence during the Republican Convention, for instance, with its summary round-ups of peaceful protestors and journalists, preemptive raids on homes and general marital law vibe, can't be counted against America's "freedom" because they had to. I mean, all these hippies showed up and it was totally scary.
When wingers talk about American freedoms, they mean "freedom for people like me, you can drag off the commies next door in the middle of the night any time you want."
National martial law and the suspension of the constitution would be perfectly fine with freedom loving patriots, as long as it was understood that it was done in the name of breaking the back of the liberal menace.
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to.
Ha ha, now we know you, having run into more than a few "Base Refugees".
That wasn't you that I had a drink with in the Lord Nelson pub in The Rocks was it?
The one who couldn't hold up a conversation about anything except his ship and when we politely talked about what it was like living on a big ship, we got accused of being communist spys!
Or maybe that was you in Kaiserslauten, eating in the Wienerwald because you can point at the pictures of the food, which you can't pronounce let alone identify despite being based in Germany for nearly 2 years.
Or the neighbor from the US Embassy who won't answer the door because we are all terrorists out to get her.
It's hard to see anything as it is, when you always hide behind your Stars and Stripes sunnies.
Quote:
Unless you have some handy dandy peice of equipment that can tell the difference between a combatants and non-combatants, I find no fault in the US government holding those they feel are responsible behind the terrorist acts of 9/11
And IF they "feel"YOU are responsible, would you find any fault with what they did to you?
Who exactly have they got in Guantánamo (under the fiction it isn't US territory) that holds a rank above Kabul taxi driver?
Dudes, chill. It's fun to pick sides, but do you really have an option? As nice as it would be, there's no developed nation you can flee to that will provide salvation. The free world is built onto two things: the trade provided by the US free market and the deterrent of hostility provided by the US military. Borrow-spend, imperialist republicans will kill it, and tax-spend, anti-war democrats will kill it just the same.
There are many countries that have the luxury of fielding nominal militaries and largely nationalized economies, because they have NATO to rely on and are small enough to mooch of the trade network without disrupting it valuations too much. The USA is not one of these. As it changes, the world changes, and I can't say it will likely be a better place for anyone.
Dudes, chill. It's fun to pick sides, but do you really have an option? As nice as it would be, there's no developed nation you can flee to that will provide salvation. The free world is built onto two things: the trade provided by the US free market and the deterrent of hostility provided by the US military. Borrow-spend, imperialist republicans will kill it, and tax-spend, anti-war democrats will kill it just the same.
There are many countries that have the luxury of fielding nominal militaries and largely nationalized economies, because they have NATO to rely on and are small enough to mooch of the trade network without disrupting it valuations too much. The USA is not one of these. As it changes, the world changes, and I can't say it will likely be a better place for anyone.
Maybe you should all live in this other USA the one which has the free trade and free speech?
With the proper permits for holding such an event, they would more likely send police to protect you from those that would want to hurt you.
snip
dy dandy peice of equipment that can tell the difference between a combatants and non-combatants, I find no fault in the US government holding those they feel are responsible behind the terrorist acts of 9/11
No, seriously. These countries have absolutely no restrictions on freedom of speech. Absolutely none. OK, I don't know about Korea, but I do know that there's no country in Europe where you can't say anything you please. You can shout at politicians, you can make huge banners calling for the overthrow of Parliament, or the monarchy, or the any political party. You can say what you want. There's almost nothing you can't say or write or broadcast (I don't think you'd get away with a full-page newspaper advert saying 'JESUS IS A CUNT', for example, but that's a matter of editorial taste and hate speech or obscenity laws. And I did see a boy wearing a t-shirt that said that a few years ago.)
I'm pretty sure it's similar in Japan, although I fancy they're more touchy about the royal family than they are in Denmark or the UK, say. And you won't get far making speeches that deny the Holocaust or call for the death of Jewish people in Germany, but they have certain... sensitivities which in my opinion are absolutely right to be written into law, although we can argue about that.
Seriously. There's nothing exceptional about the right of the American to free speech. Nearly everywhere else in the world it's absolutely taken for granted. In Denmark they pride themselves on having the 'freest speech in the world', hence the furore over the cartoons of Muhammad, but that's a whole nother thang...
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to. The only issue I am aware of in the US, that restricts your freedom of speech is where it would cause a public panic, or in the case of slander.
Warned by the US military which would have an international incident on its hand if you got into even a bar fight. Look, I have travel more extensively than you have as a civilian, and while you cannot insult the king in Morocco, every other place I have been has been as free if not more so than the US. In fact, Morocco was the most similar in restrictions given that we really cannot call for the death of any public official in the US without committing a felony...
I think your limited perspective here is from the fact that you are being forced to follow US rules in foreign countries. Remember, the restrictions on speech are coming from the US army as opposed to the governments of your host country...
Maybe you should all live in this other USA the one which has the free trade and free speech?
You sir know not of which you speak. You don't live in America right? All you do is bash our great country. Where exactly do you live? Has your country ever done anything for any other country? Give millions in aid?
You sir know not of which you speak. You don't live in America right? All you do is bash our great country. Where exactly do you live? Has your country ever done anything for any other country? Give millions in aid?
Obviously I am not an American, and there are aspects of America that I admire but not the extreme and mostly ill informed jingoistic patriotism that mostly goes into denigrating or abusing other countries and cultures. Particularly when it is clueless and based on a far too typical and blatant "never been there, don't care" wilful ignorance.
I'm Australian and yes Australia, small as it is, has done a great deal for many, many other countries including your own, which you probably wouldn't even know about. For a start we gave you the only part of your democracy that probably actually works, the Secret Ballot. If you'd only listen perhaps you might get more.
We are not the most generous aid giver, that title goes to many of the European countries, although we do our best, which is considerably more generous than the Queen of Mean, which is the USA. Typically this is part of the lies that Americans feed themselves, that as a nation they are generous and caring.
Even when America does give aid (when it isn't military) it is tailored to the needs of itself and not the recipients. For years you dumped your surplus maize on 3rd world countries, whether that was good or not, now you don't even bother with that sham as you pour it into your cars' fuel tanks.
We would love to love you and find the friend we used to know, but America has taken selfishness, meanness, and sheer bloody minded obsession with the idea that you are the only ones that count to astronomic heights.
If you find yourselves unloved, try not to perpetually claim the credit for everything and anything, get informed about more than your idle local gossip and contribute instead of just take.
The reason the world is far more excited by the prospect of Obama as President is that he is more worldly as well as intelligent and informed. We see it as a dawn of a new America that we can once again admire and support whole heartedly.
We are not deluded that he won't be an American President working in America's interests, however his respect for others will earn him respect right back.
Obviously I am not an American, and there are aspects of America that I admire but not the extreme and mostly ill informed jingoistic patriotism that mostly goes into denigrating or abusing other countries and cultures. Particularly when it is clueless and based on a far too typical and blatant "never been there, don't care" wilful ignorance.
I'm Australian and yes Australia, small as it is, has done a great deal for many, many other countries including your own, which you probably wouldn't even know about. For a start we gave you the only part of your democracy that probably actually works, the Secret Ballot. If you'd only listen perhaps you might get more.
We are not the most generous aid giver, that title goes to many of the European countries, although we do our best, which is considerably more generous than the Queen of Mean, which is the USA. Typically this is part of the lies that Americans feed themselves, that as a nation they are generous and caring.
Even when America does give aid (when it isn't military) it is tailored to the needs of itself and not the recipients. For years you dumped your surplus maize on 3rd world countries, whether that was good or not, now you don't even bother with that sham as you pour it into your cars' fuel tanks.
We would love to love you and find the friend we used to know, but America has taken selfishness, meanness, and sheer bloody minded obsession with the idea that you are the only ones that count to astronomic heights.
If you find yourselves unloved, try not to perpetually claim the credit for everything and anything, get informed about more than your idle local gossip and contribute instead of just take.
The reason the world is far more excited by the prospect of Obama as President is that he is more worldly as well as intelligent and informed. We see it as a dawn of a new America that we can once again admire and support whole heartedly.
We are not deluded that he won't be an American President working in America's interests, however his respect for others will earn him respect right back.
You always talk like you speak for the whole world when really all you can offer is one persons opinion. And you always talk like all of us Americans are guilty of everything you accuse us of. That is insulting to a lot of people on this board. If we are all rude,selfish,hateful people, you are the kind of people that make us that way. I guess all Australians are judgmental, and egotistical.
I respect your opinion but thats what it is. I wont be trashing your country although it's not perfect either. But I like Australia. And your military people thought Iraq was enough of a threat to send in troops for which I am grateful. At least some of your people have enough of a spine to help others ruled by a murdering dictator even if it would cost their life.
Comments
To all of you that say you would leave the country if Mc Cain won, I say save us the trouble of dealing with you now and leave. If your patriatism extends to who is in office, your not really an American anyway.
So GTFO now and stop taking up my free air and free speech.
Goto another country that allows you to say whatever you like about the current authorities without worry of reproach, harassment or retribution.
But thats right, you wouldnt leave even if we had voted Hitler in, because you know that if you moved out of OUR country (I capitalized that to show its not really yours) you wouldnt make it but a few months or years before you mouth got you in a jail or worse.
I guess thats the greatness behind our country is the ablility to freely speak our minds, isnt it. Just dont make threats you dont truly plan to keep.
I don't mean to be... well. I don't know. Provocative.
But you've never actually been out of America, have you?
Even the OP on this thread won't come back and defend his/her position.
To all of you that say you would leave the country if Mc Cain won, I say save us the trouble of dealing with you now and leave. If your patriatism extends to who is in office, your not really an American anyway.
So GTFO now and stop taking up my free air and free speech.
Goto another country that allows you to say whatever you like about the current authorities without worry of reproach, harassment or retribution.
But thats right, you wouldnt leave even if we had voted Hitler in, because you know that if you moved out of OUR country (I capitalized that to show its not really yours) you wouldnt make it but a few months or years before you mouth got you in a jail or worse.
I guess thats the greatness behind our country is the ablility to freely speak our minds, isnt it. Just dont make threats you dont truly plan to keep.
Oooo Errrr. Who's got a monopoly on "Freedom of Speech"?
America likes to talk about it without actually encouraging it, just as it loves to talk about "Democracy". I've never seen a people so keen to censor any criticism, outside of the Soviet Union.
Ireland
has no restrictions on freedom of speech.
Germany
has no restrictions on freedom of speech
Japan
has no restrictions on freedom of speech
Mexico
appears to have problems
Korea
has no restrictions on freedom of speech.
In point of fact, looking at this years'sWorld Index of Press Freedom, all of these nations, apart from Mexico, are higher than the United States, which comes in at 48 (one place above Togo and one place behind Nicaragua.
Here's the top 50, in case you're interested. Still a way to go.
Rank\tCountry\tNote\t
1\tIceland\t0,75\t
-\tNorway\t0,75\t
3\tEstonia\t1,00\t
-\tSlovakia\t1,00\t
5\tBelgium\t1,50\t
-\tFinland\t1,50\t
-\tSweden\t1,50\t
8\tDenmark\t2,00\t
-\tIreland\t2,00\t
-\tPortugal\t2,00\t
11\tSwitzerland\t3,00\t
12\tLatvia\t3,50\t
-\tNetherlands\t3,50\t
14\tCzech Republic\t4,00\t
15\tNew Zealand\t4,17\t
16\tAustria\t4,25\t
17\tHungary\t4,50\t
18\tCanada\t4,88\t
19\tTrinidad and Tobago\t5,00\t
20\tGermany\t5,75\t
21\tCosta Rica\t6,50\t
-\tSlovenia\t6,50\t
23\tLithuania\t7,00\t
24\tUnited Kingdom\t8,25\t
25\tMauritius\t8,50\t
-\tNamibia\t8,50\t
27\tJamaica\t8,63\t
28\tAustralia\t8,79\t
29\tGhana\t9,00\t
30\tGreece\t9,25\t
31\tFrance\t9,75\t
32\tTaiwan\t10,00\t
33\tSpain\t10,25\t
34\tBosnia and Herzegovina\t11,17\t
35\tItaly\t11,25\t
36\tMacedonia\t11,50\t
37\tJapan\t11,75\t
-\tUruguay\t11,75\t
39\tChile\t12,13\t
-\tSouth Korea\t12,13\t
41\tCroatia\t12,50\t
42\tRomania\t12,75\t
43\tSouth Africa\t13,00\t
44\tIsrael (Israeli territory)\t13,25\t
45\tCape Verde\t14,00\t
-\tCyprus\t14,00\t
47\tNicaragua\t14,25\t
48\tUnited States of America\t14,50\t
49\tTogo\t15,17\t
50\tMauritania\t15,50
Ireland, Germany, Japan, England, Kosovo, Mexico, Canada, Iraq, and soon to be Korea. I have been around, excluding England and Canada most of these countries still have stricter speech laws than the US. So yeah, I have been around the block.
really?? .. I can remember standing in the street in front of the parliment building listen to folks screaming at passers by... actually threatening insurrection and encouraging violence... yes, really! In todays environment, I really doubt you could get away with that in front of the US Capitol building... arrest would come quickly (or at the very least, one would be run off by the police.)
My experience (and the list is long, but distinguished) has been that most foreign countries allow people to speak pretty freely... until they actually start threatening other people or groups.
Ireland, Germany, Japan, England, Kosovo, Mexico, Canada, Iraq, and soon to be Korea. I have been around, excluding England and Canada most of these countries still have stricter speech laws than the US. So yeah, I have been around the block.
In the military presumably?
Ever make it off the base?
really?? .. I can remember standing in the street in front of the parliment building listen to folks screaming at passers by... actually threatening insurrection and encouraging violence... yes, really! In todays environment, I really doubt you could get away with that in front of the US Capitol building... arrest would come quickly (or at the very least, one would be run off by the police.)
My experience (and the list is long, but distinguished) has been that most foreign countries allow people to speak pretty freely... until they actually start threatening other people or groups.
With the proper permits for holding such an event, they would more likely send police to protect you from those that would want to hurt you.
In the military presumably?
Ever make it off the base?
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to. The only issue I am aware of in the US, that restricts your freedom of speech is where it would cause a public panic, or in the case of slander.
And to Hassan, that list is probably as bogus as it gets. Its a list of PRESS freedom, not speech freedom, coming from the Press without borders. And how does this, "and the murder of Chauncey Bailey in Oakland in August mean the United States is still unable to join the lead group."- source http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24022, have to do with press restrictions? I did alil of my own research and it appears that city and federal officials did everything they could to find his killers and had nothing to do with his death? And as far as those in Getmo go, my government does alot of stuff we know alil about. The fact of the matter is, the press wants us to treat them as civilians where it suits their needs, then bashes the military for not treating this more like a war. The enemy has no uniform and blends in with the populace. Unless you have some handy dandy peice of equipment that can tell the difference between a combatants and non-combatants, I find no fault in the US government holding those they feel are responsible behind the terrorist acts of 9/11
With the proper permits for holding such an event, they would more likely send police to protect you from those that would want to hurt you.
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to. The only issue I am aware of in the US, that restricts your freedom of speech is where it would cause a public panic, or in the case of slander.
And to Hassan, that list is probably as bogus as it gets. Its a list of PRESS freedom, not speech freedom, coming from the Press without borders. They are probably pissed at the US for restricting information about movements in and around Iraq, Afghanistan and just about anywhere else we have troops. With good reason, nothing worse than reporters in a combat zone.
Fantastic.
As we start to move into specifics regarding what actually constitutes "freedom of speech", it starts to turn out that whatever restrictions are happening in the US are right and proper and necessary and patriotic.
This is how it always works. "We're the freest most moral people in the world!" "What about this and this and this?" "Had to! Bad men forced our hand!"
"Bad men forced our hand" is, of course, the rallying cry for every despot that every was.
The massive police presence during the Republican Convention, for instance, with its summary round-ups of peaceful protestors and journalists, preemptive raids on homes and general marital law vibe, can't be counted against America's "freedom" because they had to. I mean, all these hippies showed up and it was totally scary.
When wingers talk about American freedoms, they mean "freedom for people like me, you can drag off the commies next door in the middle of the night any time you want."
National martial law and the suspension of the constitution would be perfectly fine with freedom loving patriots, as long as it was understood that it was done in the name of breaking the back of the liberal menace.
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to.
Ha ha, now we know you, having run into more than a few "Base Refugees".
That wasn't you that I had a drink with in the Lord Nelson pub in The Rocks was it?
The one who couldn't hold up a conversation about anything except his ship and when we politely talked about what it was like living on a big ship, we got accused of being communist spys!
Or maybe that was you in Kaiserslauten, eating in the Wienerwald because you can point at the pictures of the food, which you can't pronounce let alone identify despite being based in Germany for nearly 2 years.
Or the neighbor from the US Embassy who won't answer the door because we are all terrorists out to get her.
It's hard to see anything as it is, when you always hide behind your Stars and Stripes sunnies.
Unless you have some handy dandy peice of equipment that can tell the difference between a combatants and non-combatants, I find no fault in the US government holding those they feel are responsible behind the terrorist acts of 9/11
And IF they "feel" YOU are responsible, would you find any fault with what they did to you?
Who exactly have they got in Guantánamo (under the fiction it isn't US territory) that holds a rank above Kabul taxi driver?
There are many countries that have the luxury of fielding nominal militaries and largely nationalized economies, because they have NATO to rely on and are small enough to mooch of the trade network without disrupting it valuations too much. The USA is not one of these. As it changes, the world changes, and I can't say it will likely be a better place for anyone.
Dudes, chill. It's fun to pick sides, but do you really have an option? As nice as it would be, there's no developed nation you can flee to that will provide salvation. The free world is built onto two things: the trade provided by the US free market and the deterrent of hostility provided by the US military. Borrow-spend, imperialist republicans will kill it, and tax-spend, anti-war democrats will kill it just the same.
There are many countries that have the luxury of fielding nominal militaries and largely nationalized economies, because they have NATO to rely on and are small enough to mooch of the trade network without disrupting it valuations too much. The USA is not one of these. As it changes, the world changes, and I can't say it will likely be a better place for anyone.
Maybe you should all live in this other USA the one which has the free trade and free speech?
With the proper permits for holding such an event, they would more likely send police to protect you from those that would want to hurt you.
snip
dy dandy peice of equipment that can tell the difference between a combatants and non-combatants, I find no fault in the US government holding those they feel are responsible behind the terrorist acts of 9/11
No, seriously. These countries have absolutely no restrictions on freedom of speech. Absolutely none. OK, I don't know about Korea, but I do know that there's no country in Europe where you can't say anything you please. You can shout at politicians, you can make huge banners calling for the overthrow of Parliament, or the monarchy, or the any political party. You can say what you want. There's almost nothing you can't say or write or broadcast (I don't think you'd get away with a full-page newspaper advert saying 'JESUS IS A CUNT', for example, but that's a matter of editorial taste and hate speech or obscenity laws. And I did see a boy wearing a t-shirt that said that a few years ago.)
I'm pretty sure it's similar in Japan, although I fancy they're more touchy about the royal family than they are in Denmark or the UK, say. And you won't get far making speeches that deny the Holocaust or call for the death of Jewish people in Germany, but they have certain... sensitivities which in my opinion are absolutely right to be written into law, although we can argue about that.
Seriously. There's nothing exceptional about the right of the American to free speech. Nearly everywhere else in the world it's absolutely taken for granted. In Denmark they pride themselves on having the 'freest speech in the world', hence the furore over the cartoons of Muhammad, but that's a whole nother thang...
Yes, have made it off post at every country listed and I have been warned in every country I have been to, to be very careful as to what I say and to who I say it to. The only issue I am aware of in the US, that restricts your freedom of speech is where it would cause a public panic, or in the case of slander.
Warned by the US military which would have an international incident on its hand if you got into even a bar fight. Look, I have travel more extensively than you have as a civilian, and while you cannot insult the king in Morocco, every other place I have been has been as free if not more so than the US. In fact, Morocco was the most similar in restrictions given that we really cannot call for the death of any public official in the US without committing a felony...
I think your limited perspective here is from the fact that you are being forced to follow US rules in foreign countries. Remember, the restrictions on speech are coming from the US army as opposed to the governments of your host country...
Maybe you should all live in this other USA the one which has the free trade and free speech?
You sir know not of which you speak. You don't live in America right? All you do is bash our great country. Where exactly do you live? Has your country ever done anything for any other country? Give millions in aid?
Maybe you should all live in this other USA the one which has the free trade and free speech?
You are so proud of your country you don't even want anyone to know where you are from.
You sir know not of which you speak. You don't live in America right? All you do is bash our great country. Where exactly do you live? Has your country ever done anything for any other country? Give millions in aid?
Obviously I am not an American, and there are aspects of America that I admire but not the extreme and mostly ill informed jingoistic patriotism that mostly goes into denigrating or abusing other countries and cultures. Particularly when it is clueless and based on a far too typical and blatant "never been there, don't care" wilful ignorance.
I'm Australian and yes Australia, small as it is, has done a great deal for many, many other countries including your own, which you probably wouldn't even know about. For a start we gave you the only part of your democracy that probably actually works, the Secret Ballot. If you'd only listen perhaps you might get more.
We are not the most generous aid giver, that title goes to many of the European countries, although we do our best, which is considerably more generous than the Queen of Mean, which is the USA. Typically this is part of the lies that Americans feed themselves, that as a nation they are generous and caring.
Even when America does give aid (when it isn't military) it is tailored to the needs of itself and not the recipients. For years you dumped your surplus maize on 3rd world countries, whether that was good or not, now you don't even bother with that sham as you pour it into your cars' fuel tanks.
We would love to love you and find the friend we used to know, but America has taken selfishness, meanness, and sheer bloody minded obsession with the idea that you are the only ones that count to astronomic heights.
If you find yourselves unloved, try not to perpetually claim the credit for everything and anything, get informed about more than your idle local gossip and contribute instead of just take.
The reason the world is far more excited by the prospect of Obama as President is that he is more worldly as well as intelligent and informed. We see it as a dawn of a new America that we can once again admire and support whole heartedly.
We are not deluded that he won't be an American President working in America's interests, however his respect for others will earn him respect right back.
Obviously I am not an American, and there are aspects of America that I admire but not the extreme and mostly ill informed jingoistic patriotism that mostly goes into denigrating or abusing other countries and cultures. Particularly when it is clueless and based on a far too typical and blatant "never been there, don't care" wilful ignorance.
I'm Australian and yes Australia, small as it is, has done a great deal for many, many other countries including your own, which you probably wouldn't even know about. For a start we gave you the only part of your democracy that probably actually works, the Secret Ballot. If you'd only listen perhaps you might get more.
We are not the most generous aid giver, that title goes to many of the European countries, although we do our best, which is considerably more generous than the Queen of Mean, which is the USA. Typically this is part of the lies that Americans feed themselves, that as a nation they are generous and caring.
Even when America does give aid (when it isn't military) it is tailored to the needs of itself and not the recipients. For years you dumped your surplus maize on 3rd world countries, whether that was good or not, now you don't even bother with that sham as you pour it into your cars' fuel tanks.
We would love to love you and find the friend we used to know, but America has taken selfishness, meanness, and sheer bloody minded obsession with the idea that you are the only ones that count to astronomic heights.
If you find yourselves unloved, try not to perpetually claim the credit for everything and anything, get informed about more than your idle local gossip and contribute instead of just take.
The reason the world is far more excited by the prospect of Obama as President is that he is more worldly as well as intelligent and informed. We see it as a dawn of a new America that we can once again admire and support whole heartedly.
We are not deluded that he won't be an American President working in America's interests, however his respect for others will earn him respect right back.
You always talk like you speak for the whole world when really all you can offer is one persons opinion. And you always talk like all of us Americans are guilty of everything you accuse us of. That is insulting to a lot of people on this board. If we are all rude,selfish,hateful people, you are the kind of people that make us that way. I guess all Australians are judgmental, and egotistical.
I respect your opinion but thats what it is. I wont be trashing your country although it's not perfect either. But I like Australia. And your military people thought Iraq was enough of a threat to send in troops for which I am grateful. At least some of your people have enough of a spine to help others ruled by a murdering dictator even if it would cost their life.