americans

[raggedyanne]

ohhhh. I get it. But can we just be nicer to poor fetter. I mean, I've probebly said stupider things on this site. (Don't be afraid to post links people)

[CptSternn]

The last half of the article and my comments were cut from the last post there about America now dropping well below most European nations in the world of technology, so I'll recap.

As the article points out, due to big business working hand in hand with the American government, new innovation has been stifled. You can see this in almost every industry. A few examples are things like...

Broadband. In 1998 I had a 4 meg DSL line in the flat I was renting in the states that I paid exactly $19.99 for a month. I had 3 IP addresses, unlimited transfers, and they came and set it up for nothing. Then the bush administration decided to side with Verizon in a court case and had all competitors removed from their networks.

A previous court ruling stated Verizon, which supplies Virginia/DC and a large chunk of the east coast, had stated that if there was only one supplier in the area that they HAD to open their lines up to competitors to allow competition so there was not a monopoly on broadband.

In a matter of weeks, COVAD was forced to cancel all contracts, including mine, and then Verizon tried to sell me a PPPOE connection at a rate of $29.99 a month, for 1 meg connection speed, no real IP's, and with a $160 connection fee. Needless to say I was upset, as were many of my neighbors who also had their connections terminated and then downgraded and were forced to cancel their accounts or pay exorbant amounts for significantly less. But hey - with no other options Verizon can charge what they want - they are the ONLY game in town in certain areas. To this day the practice has not been changed. Fortunately some new options have arisen - like the wireless and satellite broadband, but their prices remain high as well - well over the price we were paying in 1998 for a better service.

Same goes for mobile technology. The FCC when the bush administration took over enacted legislation that forbid companies from offering more than X number of services on their networks - they claimed to 'promote innovation'. In reality, it was just the opposite. Much like land lines the airwaves were chock full of a oligarchy of providers. Three main cell phone operators had a hold on all of the available bands. By limiting new competitors by limiting the serivces that could be offered, they allowed those three to stifle all innovation. When television over your mobile, games over mobile, texting, etc. all first hit the market BACK IN 2000, not one phone company in America offered those features. Most still do not. Any new company trying to bring it to the market now is blocked by said legislation.

Then there is the ruling that keeps all the interactive television from Americans. As I spoke of before, we have fully interactive television here that links to the net along with on demand video and more. It has been around Europe since about 2000 as well. This is not yet available in America. Want to guess why? You got it - the bush administration fought to overturn previous legislation that allowed phone companies to offer cable service and cable operators to offer phone service. Now, back in 2002 the cable companies and phone companies got together and worked out a scheme for themselves - allowing companies like Comcast to offer telephone service and Verizon to offer some limited television services - but those were very limited deals, worked out between specific companies in specific areas that allows them to offer limited services, at a high price, that their counterparts also took a slice of. They did not open the market, and once again in fact blocked all new technology from being offered - neither wanted the other to offer interactive tv or anything else the other had yet to capitalise on, so those technologies to this day are still blocked and the rights to releasing them lie within a small group of companies who hold all rights to the market and have no reason to further competition or invest in R&D because their stranglehold allows them to set an artificially high price which no one can compete with.

There are even more examples of this - these are the big ones I personally followed, and still follow, today. With big business working hand in hand with the government, allowing monopolies and allowing them to stifle all new innovation that can compete with their market - its a wonder it's taken this long for the world to bypass America in the technology department.

The next 'big thing' America will be fighting is the emergence of the internet phone. New mobile phones here can automatically search for open WIFI networks and when you dial, if one is available, use it INSTEAD of your normal service (via VoIP) - meaning when you are in certain cities or buildings, you pay nothing for your mobile phone calls. I'm betting that technology is also not yet available in America - and will be blocked by legislation, if it isn't already.

[MollyMac]

I'm not that nice and I don't cut slack beacuse of a Britneyed "Oops, I did it again" retraction statement. Either mean what you say or don't say it.

[CptSternn]

It looks like people in America are waking up to the fact the government, along with the military and yes, American media have been lying to them.

Few Americans trust military or media for information on Iraq

http://news.**********/s/afp/2007040...a_070405210619

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Most Americans have little or no confidence in the information they receive from the military or the media about the situation in Iraq, according to a poll released Thursday.

The survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 52 percent have little or no faith in the military's portrayal of the four-year war, compared with 60 percent who feel the same way about the press reports of the conflict.

The figures are a far cry from the overwhelming confidence Americans had in the military and the media at the outset of the war in March 2003.

At the time, fully 85 percent said they had at least a fair amount of confidence in military information and 81 percent were confident the press was giving an accurate picture of the war.

Michael Dimock, associate director of the Pew Research Center, said the poll findings mirror the public's perception of how well the war is going overall.

"People are questioning whether they are getting good information about how things are going and it's affecting the public's confidence in the government and military as well as the press," Dimock told AFP.

He noted differences along party lines in how people responded to the survey questions with Democrats more skeptical about government information whereas Republicans were more leery of press coverage.

The survey of 1,038 adult Americans was conducted between March 30 and April 2 and had a 3.5 percent plus or minus margin of error.


Over half of Americans now know that the U.S. media is bias, slanted, and for a number of years helped the bush admin spread their lies.

It's good to see over 30% of American's now have seen the light. I'm wondering how many more political scandals, military blunders, and dead bodies have to come home before the rest begin to pull their heads out of the sand.

[Saphyra Runa]

He noted differences along party lines in how people responded to the survey questions with Democrats more skeptical about government information whereas Republicans were more leery of press coverage.

Over half of Americans now know that the U.S. media is bias, slanted, and for a number of years helped the bush admin spread their lies.

The press has helped spread the Bush administrations lies? Oh PUH-LEEZE! The press is biased and slanted all right. Or should I say all left. They have been quite busy over the last 7-8 years say Bush is bad. I could count on one hand the conservative newspapers and television news media. Our own newspaper here in Des Moines slings so much BS it isn't even fit to line a bird cage.

And could you please make the link to your news articles at least be decipherable so I can get to them to read the whole thing in it's entirety? All those little asteriks in the link lead us nowhere. Thank you.

[Drake Dun]

Well, they did buy (or pretend to buy) the WMD thing hook, line and sinker. They did help spread the lies. Whether it was wilful or not is a separate question.

Drake

[raggedyanne]

WAIT! Sternn is back!? Look, no country is perfect. All people suck when you get to know them. Sternn is evil and causes chaos from his cave in troll-land.

[CptSternn]

Study: Major increase in morbidly obese

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...se_N.htm?csp=1

The prevalence of American adults who are 100 or more pounds over a healthy weight has risen dramatically since 2000, a study released Monday shows.

About 3% of people, or 6.8 million adults, were morbidly obese in 2005, up from 2% or 4.2 million people in 2000, says Roland Sturm, an economist with the RAND Corp., a non-profit think tank.

The evidence of such a significant increase in the number of Americans who are extremely heavy "is mind-boggling," he says.

Sturm analyzed government data on about 1.5 million people who reported their own weights and heights. Participants were categorized as severely or morbidly obese if they had a body mass index (a height-weight ratio) of 40 or higher.

According to government data, about 66% of people in the USA are now either overweight or obese, which is defined as 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. Obesity increases a person's risk of contracting numerous diseases, including diabetes, heart diseases and cancer.

Sturm's study, which was released Monday on the website of the journal Public Health, shows that 24.6% of people were obese in 2005, up from 20% in 2000. That's an increase of 24%.

People usually under report their weight, so the percentage of people who are morbidly obese is actually higher than 3%, Sturm says. A large government survey in which people are actually weighed and measured suggests that about 5% of U.S. adults are morbidly obese and a third are obese, Sturm says.

He says his analysis highlights the dramatic increase in the number of morbidly obese people over a relatively short period of time.

"Even though we've had an explosion of bariatric surgery in that time, it doesn't seem to have made a dent in these numbers," he says. Bariatric surgery often reduces the size of the stomach.

For years, some experts believed that severe obesity was a rare condition that affected a fixed percentage of the population that might be more predisposed to weight gain for genetic or metabolic reasons, Sturm says.

"But these numbers show the trend is really paralleling what is going on in our society," he says. To help reverse the numbers, "we need to move to a healthier environment with friendlier staircases and more walkable environments," Sturm says.

George Blackburn, associate director of nutrition at Harvard Medical School, calls the increase in the percent of severely obese people a catastrophe.

"It is an emergency because the disability, the discrimination and the health care costs for this population are enormous," he says.


Many people in this very thread have argued that the BMI calculations are skewed. This article, no matter how you try to 'recalculate' the CDC's figures is something that can't be viewed as a math problem.

[ArtificialOne]

Seriously stern, put this crap in the "whining" thread...

That's what it is. If you want to have a serious discussion about americans try having it on our feelings about immigration, aging, cultural norms, culture changes, family ties etc.

When you post crap like this it's obviously trolling or bitching. The moderators should really be watching for stuff like this.

[raggedyanne]

We know that obesity is rising. It has nothing to do with America. It is happening everywhere. It's world culture in general.

Yes, it is a problem. The american gorvernment is already trying to cut down on obesity in schools by reforming the phys. ed. programs and regulating the food served at school. The government and the media are doing more the educate the general populace about better eating and exercise habits.

I, myself, am a vegitarian and trying to exercise more with biking, walking, yoga, and dance. Many of my friends and their familys are starting exercise regiments of their own.

We're not all fat so please do not generalize.

[CptSternn]

Originally Posted by ArtificialOne

Seriously stern, put this crap in the "whining" thread...

That's what it is. If you want to have a serious discussion about americans try having it on our feelings about immigration, aging, cultural norms, culture changes, family ties etc.

When you post crap like this it's obviously trolling or bitching. The moderators should really be watching for stuff like this.

The article is in response to previous posts claiming Americans as a rule are not fat, and that the CDC is incompetent and their rating system is obsolete.

I was pointing out with OBESE and MORBIDLY OBESE cases rising faster than just people 'over weight' it shows the CDC is right on the money.

[Binkie]

Kinda funny that he's now saying the CDC BMI charts are perfect, when they clearly indicate he's overweight - a "statistical fact" he denies up and down in saying that the CDC is flawed.

[Saddiction]

After being in the Southern US for a week, I can understand how easy it is to become fat. The portions are considerably larger. I tried to eat at the same rate as the rest of the group. I ended up getting sick for 2 days.

[raggedyanne]

I know. I'm a vegitarian and my folks dragged me through the midwest for three weeks. I gained a ton of weight because all I could eat were mashed potatoes and sometimes fish, all fried stuff. I couldn't stand the sight of potatoes for weeks. California doesn't seem so bad anymore. ; )

[CptSternn]

Those are both troubling trends which have been mentioned before. Super-sized portions everywhere, and the need to deep fry pretty much everything on the menu is not good for anyone.

It does however allow truly 'fast' food, with little or no overhead on the chef since all one has to do is pay someone to push a button on a fry machine.

Personally, I think they should tax fast food in America like they do alcohol or cigarettes. They do that here in Ireland - and it works well.

I mean, a combo meal at McDonalds runs you about €8-€9 (thats about $12). This because of the tax as well as two laws we have to promote health and local industry. First, they tax it because its a luxury, like alcohol and cigarettes, and because its harmful. Second, they are forced to buy all of their meat/napkins/etc. from the local community - no sending in for meat or other products outside the area - keeps local businesses up and running. Finally, because of the tax and the lack of foreign imports to allow huge price reduction our prices are set pretty high, meaning its cheaper to eat at home than it is to go out and buy a 'McWhopper value meal' at any chipper.

Also, companies here must provide a living wage. Unlike the states, where you can't raise a family of four working 40 hours a week at a chipper, here you can because of the law.

If those factors were put into place in say America, I think it could help the obesity problem. They seem to work throughout Europe where similar laws are in place in most countries (i.e. France, Germany, Spain, etc.) and keep people happy and thin.

Sure the prices would increase, but so would the lifes of those working in the chippers, and the health levels of those who eat there. I mean, seriously, does anyone need a 3/4 pound of meat with 3 types of cheese for .99? Ye might as well put some mayo in a syringe and mainline it like heroin - its just as healthy...

[raggedyanne]

I agree. People should be payed more so that they can actually live. Your country has it right. Forcing McDonalds buy local products helps the economy and makes the food a smidgen more healthy, but not much. Deep fried food is disgusting. I eat fries maybe once a month, if that. Have you ever seen the movie "Supersize Me"?

[Vako]

I stay away from fried foods all together. It overpowers the intricate, natural taste of the food and it tastes oily. Fried foods feel greasy, because they are greasy. Gross.

[CptSternn]

Originally Posted by raggedyanne

I agree. People should be payed more so that they can actually live. Your country has it right. Forcing McDonalds buy local products helps the economy and makes the food a smidgen more healthy, but not much. Deep fried food is disgusting. I eat fries maybe once a month, if that. Have you ever seen the movie "Supersize Me"?

Supresize me was a great docu film sure. It was a real eye-opener I think for the few that saw it (it was kept of many screens in many countries).

Something you might want to look into on that side of the pond if you do feel that supporting the local economy and imporving wages for fast food/minimum wage workers needs to be addressed is the Living Wage Coalition (http://www.livingwageaction.org/).

At my club (Cafines) we had LWAC sponsored fund-raisers once every two months. We had 10 bands that played from noon until 10, and offer free energy drinks to anyone who came out to support the organisation. We usually had a few hundred a attend each event, along with many local politicians. We also raised money via donations and the bands donated a portion of merch sales from the event as well.

They are a great crowd and have good goals. My personal feelings are that any job a man (or woman) does for 40 hours a week should be enough to pay their bills and allow them to have a family. The fact that this is not addressed by many societies and is completely ignored by many politicians is a disgrace.

[ArtificialOne]

Anyone dumb enough to eat fast food deserves what that guy got in the "Supersize Me" movie.

Anyone with half a braincell knows fast food is generally bad for you.

And as far as fat americans.... Come over to the west coast and you don't even see half as many as you do on the east coast.

And working at resorts with retuarants and working in the exquipment industry I know that many of the ingredients used by food chains are local. It saves money, time and shipping costs.

We live in a free democratic society and no one should force people to eat certain foods by taxing the crap out of other foods.

If you really want to change the way people eat it starts at home when you raise the child. Stop trying to blame Mcdeaths and others for selling a product people want to buy... remember the whole "Freedom of choice thing".

[ArtificialOne]

Whoops, I meant to say "Dumb enough to eat fast food everyday deserves what that guy got in the movie."

Eating it once in awhile isn't too bad.. I mean you can't live your whole life in a box...

[Drake Dun]

Originally Posted by ArtificialOne

We live in a free democratic society and no one should force people to eat certain foods by taxing the crap out of other foods.

Seriously, dude. We are grown-ups, and government is not mommy. I think leftists should stick to attacking the capitalist foundations that make phenomena like McDonald's possible.

Drake

[ArtificialOne]

Um.. drake.. I think that's what I said... and capitalism is way better than socialism. I don't need some buearucrat in an office somewhere I don't live to tell me not to eat a big mac on friday night after work...

F' socialism and people who want to control my life with stupid laws and taxes on products I should be free to use!!! I love my freedom!!!

Socialism=slavery

People need to stop blaming others for their problems... Go personal responsibility!!!

[Drake Dun]

Originally Posted by ArtificialOne

Um.. drake.. I think that's what I said...

I was agreeing with you. That can happen, you know. :P

...capitalism is way better than socialism.

If we define "socialism" as state socialism, I think I'm with you (although European style pseudo-socialism is worth having a look at, as against straight-laced capitalism). However, as someone pointed out recently in the "Communism" thread, the term "socialism" is actually a lot broader and more nuanced than most Americans realize. It's not synonmous with Marxism, and it can come in many flavors, including highly anti-authoritarian ones.

Drake

[ArtificialOne]

Kool.. was a little confused at first.

[dark_dragon_of_ice]

Yeah like New Zealand =p..hehe