OT: Yanks living abroad, is life different with pending Iragi war?

I think you meant to post this in the politics forum.

 

I'll respond before this gets moved and I lose it.

Well, I can only speak for myself, but here in London the vast majority of people who are against the war (and it's a lot, but perhaps not an overall majority) distinguish between Americans and the American administration. They like/ love Americans, but cannot stand -- and I mean HATE -- Bush, et al. They see him as naive and ham-handed in his diplomacy. Now, thinking of the American government as naive is nothing new and seems to be pretty commonplace, but ordinary people (and governments too, I think) have just been turned off by our government's "do what I say because I say it, and then love me for it" kind of attitude.

From what I've read in US media sources (I read them over the web quite frequently), they're blowing this antagonism way out of proportion. The Europeans seem to realize that, whatever happens, they'll still have to deal with each other and the US afterwards and that friends can have spats -- even full out fights -- and still be friends. I wonder if the current US administration feels the same.

Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.

 

I think what any American abroad would find is that Europeans are 'amazingly' able to differenciate between a government and individuals. There's more antagonism towards those who are cancelling european vacation plans in the event of war because they somehow think they'll be more at risk in Europe than in the US. Any american player who went back to the US if war broke out would lose a lot of respect, but I don't think any player will because they've lived in Europe long enough to be able to more realistically assess the risks - and realise that in actual fact they're are probably safer in Europe than in America.

 

My youngest daughter lives in Berlin, Germany.

They were nice to her before all this started, and they are nice to her now.

 

I live abroad in Japan and its idealistic to think Brits, Aussies, or French don't like Americans. By and large they don't like our policies and aren't so high on our culture. Canucks make every effort they can to differentiate themselves from Americans, to the point of being Anti-American, the pussies.

 

They aren't being 'pussies' when they do that.

If you come from a small country (in population) that borders a larger one, you have to define yourself by what you are not to a large extent.

 

Sewing a flag on every article you can to distinguish yourself as not American is lame and ***************-ish.

 

Only if you ARE an American.

 

The biggest difference I find between where I live in the US, and where I go in Canada is number one it seems they keep their streets much cleaner then we do.

Also they have no idea what an egg cream is. So I am the apostle for the egg cream when I go there. One day they will all know what it is because of me.

 

Which DOES happen and DID piss me off.

 

ok. i live here, and have no facking clue what this egg cream you speak of is.

 

Dude, I don't know why you hate Canada so much -- maybe a mountie ate your mother or something -- but lighten up.

 

canadians are just kinda pissed that they don't have their own identity on the world stage so they just get lumped with americans. i met a french canadian in france and he said that the french-canadians tend to be confident with their identity but non-french canadians feel they don't have an identity so they try to refuse their "american-ness" his words, not mine.

 

My wife is Kenyan. She's talking more about politics now than before, maybe because I'm more animated than I've been about politics since we've met. Anyway, growing up in a one-party quasi-semi-benevolent dictatorship, she rejected politics. For example, when the subject of becoming an American citizenship came up, I said she'd be able to vote. She looked at me as if horns had sprouted from my head, and said she didn't care.

She has the perspective of the small countries. And she is less fixated on the particulars of Iraq, than on the precedent Bush is trying to create. Preventive (not pre-emptive, dammit!!) war, Lone Ranger adventures, etc. She doesn't like it.

A Canadian magazine had a contest to come up with an equivalent to, as American as apple pie.

The winner was, as Canadian as possible under the circumstances.

 

I think some Canadians believe that they don´t have their own identity on the world stage. But actually they are wrong. Most of the people know and respect Canada. But some "Canucks" lack of self-confidence of being Canadian.
Oh Canada, my home and native land...

domingo

 

<Mopping up coffee from monitor and keyboard.>>

Classic!

 

That's what I am here for. Get a tall glass fill any where between a quarter of the glass up to a half a glass with Milk. Then add chocolate or vanilla syrup depending on what kind of egg cream you like and stir well my friend.

Then add seltzer or you can substitute with sprite if you like. Key is to keep stirring while you pour the seltzer or sprite slowly. You will get a head on it, but not too much of a head.

Then you get a long hard pretzel to eat with it. The pretzel goes with the egg cream like mustard goes with the hotdog. Don't use those thin or that other kind of pretzels.

Then put some 60's music cd's on, like Cara Mia from Jay and the Americans or Pretty Women or You lost that lovin feeling by the Righteous Brothers, and enjoy yourself.

Its just a little piece of Heaven while your still on earth.

Do not I repeat do not add an egg. You add an egg in malteds.

Richie