PM remarks on The National

[BigCityBoy]

I don't get why the Prime Minister can't just admit that the reason why most people commit crimes against the U.S and western countries is because they see our great lifestyles on t.v and get pissed off they don't have it themselves. If anyone saw Harper's interview they would see he is avoiding the most basic question - why can't a guy who has to eat beans and rice (if he's lucky) be pissed at a guy who eats packaged chicken whenever he wants? It's simple - they want what we have. And god bless them. I don't understand why we fail to admit that. Am i being obtuse?

[panamaniac]

Yes, obtuse would cover it.

[benjaminbach]

The reason why most people commit crimes against the U.S and western countries is because they see our great lifestyles on t.v and get pissed off they don't have it themselves.

Do you have a source behind that assertion?

[HillDweller]

I don't get why the Prime Minister can't just admit that the reason why most people commit crimes against the U.S and western countries is because they see our great lifestyles on t.v and get pissed off they don't have it themselves. If anyone saw Harper's interview they would see he is avoiding the most basic question - why can't a guy who has to eat beans and rice (if he's lucky) be pissed at a guy who eats packaged chicken whenever he wants? It's simple - they want what we have. And god bless them. I don't understand why we fail to admit that. Am i being obtuse?

Don't forget that Bin Laden had access to millions from his billionaire family's estate. I'm sure that he had all the food that he wanted when growing up, not to mention anything else that his heart desired. He was a religious fanatic who bastardized the Muslim religion to suit his purposes.

[benjaminbach]

And Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab came from a very wealthy family - his father is one of the richest people in his country, chairman of a bank, yet young & rich (educated at international private schools, had a Sony Playstation growing up...) Umar put explosives in his underwear and tried to blow up a plane.

[mpd618]

I don't get why the Prime Minister can't just admit that the reason why most people commit crimes against the U.S and western countries is because they see our great lifestyles on t.v and get pissed off they don't have it themselves.

I don't get why the U.S. can't admit that its imperialistic military and political interventions on behalf of itself and its corporations in much of the world may have something to do with negative attitudes towards it. No, it must be that they hate our freedom. Yeah. Right.

[benjaminbach]

I don't get why the U.S. can't admit that its imperialistic military and political interventions on behalf of itself and its corporations in much of the world may have something to do with negative attitudes towards it. No, it must be that they hate
our freedom. Yeah. Right.

Lets keep the hyperbole to a minimum, please. Many members of my family had their lives saved because American and other Allied forces intervened militarily to stop horrible atrocities. I know lots of people who can say the same thing.

[marral]

Benjamin, you have a good point. But I don't think there's any question but that poverty begets violence (notwithstanding the occasional wealthy terrorist - but you didn't see bin Laden with a suicide vest). The US - and Canada and other first world nations - need to understand that. The US is a large, wealthy target, but let's not forget England, Spain, and other countries who have been targeted. Canada has been fortunate. As the Arrogant Worms say in Proud to be Canadian, "We won't say that we're better, it's just that we're less worse." http://www.arrogantworms.com/music/proud-to-be-canadian/

[bcwessel]

Warning: Contains language which may offend some.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM202BVLf78

For a somewhat more rigorous and nuanced analysis I will here defer to Noam Chomsky:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0svkWuLlo

[garthdanlor]

Lets keep the hyperbole to a minimum, please. Many members of my family had their lives saved because American and other Allied forces intervened militarily to stop horrible atrocities. I know lots of people who can say the same thing.
Absolutely, they (and we) deserve praise for such actions. However, this doesn't give the US (or Canada or anyone else for that matter) a free pass when it comes to propping up dictators, performing assassinations, illegal invasions, etc. They (and we) should be heartily condemned for actions such as these.

[isUsername]

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk106/wsowen02/omfg_abe_simpson_in_and_out.gif

[BigCityBoy]

Yankee go home. And take me with you
Feb. 19,
2007

Anti-Americanism, which may be as old as America in some
quarters, has always contained a paradox. America's compelling narrative and
freedoms have the capacity both to offend and enchant, often the same person.

But today, the enchantment side is definitely lagging behind. Princeton's
Bernard Chazelle puts it bluntly in his recent "clinical study" of
anti-Americanism: "Never has the United States been so alienated from the rest
of the world."
Several large surveys of global public opinion by such
prestigious organisations as the Pew Institute, the German Marshall Fund and
GlobeScan (for BBC World) provide dismal reading.
The BBC poll last year
asked, "Is the U.S. having a mainly positive influence in the world?" Only 29
per cent of the 25,000 people polled in 25 countries still viewed America's
influence as "mainly positive." That's down from 36 per cent in 2005 and against
49 per cent who see U.S. influence as "mainly negative."
Why this matters


It should almost go without saying but successful leadership by the
world's sole superpower requires a favourable view of America in the eyes of
others. A widely disliked America obviously helps extremists and terrorists to
mobilize support.
Some say resentment of the world's "Mr. Big" is inevitable.
Rome went through it, as did the British and French empires in their colonial
heydays. As French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said during a recent
U.S. visit: "The virulence of the press and a portion of the French elites
against the U.S. reflects a certain envy of your success."
But broad
generalizations like this don't always get at the full story.
In their new
book, "Anti-Americanisms in World Politics", U.S. scholars Peter
Katzenstein and Robert Keohane underline the fact that anti-Americanism is not a
single phenomenon.
In fact, they break out four different strands:
a)
"liberal anti-Americanism" — those who share American values but see the U.S.
pursuing selfish interests and practising double standards;
b) "social
anti-Americanism" — advocates of greater social welfare who resent the market
primacy of American society;
c) "sovereign-nationalist anti-Americanism" —
those whose national identity is threatened by so-called Americanization or who
have a historic grievance as a result of direct interference, as in Iran, China
or parts of Latin America;
d) "radical anti-Americanism" — the most
dangerous, which views the U.S. existentially as an evil antagonist, the way
Islamic radicals do today, or Marxist-Leninists a few decades ago.

While they object to the actions of the U.S. government, the vast
majority of foreigners have retained affection for the American people. A survey
taken in 44 countries shows that 43 per cent of respondents regard Americans
themselves in a "somewhat favourable light," while 21 per cent look on them
"very favourably."
Even in Lebanon, where 81 per cent "oppose the U.S.
government," 50 per cent "like" or "love" the American people. Lebanon is
typical, moreover, of places where U.S. policy is reviled, but American
educational institutions and innovation are admired, and U.S. culture enjoyed.

And consider France's Sarkozy again, in London a few weeks ago: "The French
listen to Madonna just as they used to love listening to Elvis and Sinatra. And
French parents dream of sending their child to an American university."

[HillDweller]

Yankee go home. And take me with you
Feb. 19,
2007

Anti-Americanism, which may be as old as America in some
quarters, has always contained a paradox. America's compelling narrative and
freedoms have the capacity both to offend and enchant, often the same person.

But today, the enchantment side is definitely lagging behind. Princeton's
Bernard Chazelle puts it bluntly in his recent "clinical study" of
anti-Americanism: "Never has the United States been so alienated from the rest
of the world."
Several large surveys of global public opinion by such
prestigious organisations as the Pew Institute, the German Marshall Fund and
GlobeScan (for BBC World) provide dismal reading.
The BBC poll last year
asked, "Is the U.S. having a mainly positive influence in the world?" Only 29
per cent of the 25,000 people polled in 25 countries still viewed America's
influence as "mainly positive." That's down from 36 per cent in 2005 and against
49 per cent who see U.S. influence as "mainly negative."
Why this matters


It should almost go without saying but successful leadership by the
world's sole superpower requires a favourable view of America in the eyes of
others. A widely disliked America obviously helps extremists and terrorists to
mobilize support.
Some say resentment of the world's "Mr. Big" is inevitable.
Rome went through it, as did the British and French empires in their colonial
heydays. As French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said during a recent
U.S. visit: "The virulence of the press and a portion of the French elites
against the U.S. reflects a certain envy of your success."
But broad
generalizations like this don't always get at the full story.
In their new
book, "Anti-Americanisms in World Politics", U.S. scholars Peter
Katzenstein and Robert Keohane underline the fact that anti-Americanism is not a
single phenomenon.
In fact, they break out four different strands:
a)
"liberal anti-Americanism" — those who share American values but see the U.S.
pursuing selfish interests and practising double standards;
b) "social
anti-Americanism" — advocates of greater social welfare who resent the market
primacy of American society;
c) "sovereign-nationalist anti-Americanism" —
those whose national identity is threatened by so-called Americanization or who
have a historic grievance as a result of direct interference, as in Iran, China
or parts of Latin America;
d) "radical anti-Americanism" — the most
dangerous, which views the U.S. existentially as an evil antagonist, the way
Islamic radicals do today, or Marxist-Leninists a few decades ago.

While they object to the actions of the U.S. government, the vast
majority of foreigners have retained affection for the American people. A survey
taken in 44 countries shows that 43 per cent of respondents regard Americans
themselves in a "somewhat favourable light," while 21 per cent look on them
"very favourably."
Even in Lebanon, where 81 per cent "oppose the U.S.
government," 50 per cent "like" or "love" the American people. Lebanon is
typical, moreover, of places where U.S. policy is reviled, but American
educational institutions and innovation are admired, and U.S. culture enjoyed.

And consider France's Sarkozy again, in London a few weeks ago: "The French
listen to Madonna just as they used to love listening to Elvis and Sinatra. And
French parents dream of sending their child to an American university."

Who really cares??

[isUsername]

http://images.t-nation.com/forum_images/2/b/2b2d2_ORIG-I_like_where_this_thread_is_going.jpg

[mpd618]

As much as I may share the sentiment that this forum may not be a good place for discussions like these, I think it's an even worse place for drive-by image macros.

[isUsername]

Sometimes something is so ridiculous, it's hard to put into words.

[garthdanlor]

Sometimes something is so ridiculous, it's hard to put into words.
I agree that this probably isn't the best place for such a discussion, but the issues are serious. You're images, on the other hand, are ridiculous.

[BuildingScout]

I agree that this probably isn't the best place for such a discussion, but the issues are serious. You're images, on the other hand, are ridiculous.

Oh common. That was clearly a joke, and I don't know about you but it made me laugh, even though I had already seen this picture elsewhere.

[bcwessel]

Possible consequences (http://www.gallup.com/poll/149369/Religion-Not-Color-Views-Violence.aspx) of the pervasiveness of the narrative informing this thread include:

560 561

[isUsername]

I agree that this probably isn't the best place for such a discussion, but the issues are serious. You're images, on the other hand, are ridiculous.

Thank you? Macros typically aren't supposed to be serious.

Yes, the topic is a serious one, but so far, most of the narrative in this thread has been far less down-to-earth than what one would expect on WW.

[markster]

560 561
I object to Gallup grouping Canada and the US together on this.

[bcwessel]

I object to Gallup grouping Canada and the US together on this.

Interesting. I object far more to other things in those tables. To each his own.