USA social commentary - a visiting European view
POSTED BY: kpo
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 23:23
VIEWED: 4974
PAGE 5 of 8
Quote:
If we believed everything in the movies...
Large, loft-style apartments in New York City are well within the price range of most people -- whether they are employed or not.
At least one of a pair of identical twins is born evil.
Should you decide to defuse a bomb, don't worry which wire to cut. You will always choose the right one.
Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communications system of any invading alien society.
It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts: your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.
When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your bedroom will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish.
If you are blonde and pretty, it is possible to become a world expert on nuclear fission at the age of 22.
Honest and hard working policemen are traditionally gunned down three days before their retirement.
Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their arch enemies using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley systems, deadly gases, lasers, and man-eating sharks, which
will allow their captives at least 20 minutes to escape.
All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets that reach the armpit level on a woman but only to waist level on the man lying beside her.
All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
It's easy for anyone to land a plane providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.
Once applied, lipstick will never rub off even while scuba diving.
You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German or Russian officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German or Russian accent will do.
The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating, but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.
If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.
Word processors never display a cursor on screen but will always say: Enter Password Now.
Even when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.
All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off.
A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.
If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you meet will know all the steps.
Police departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.
When they are alone, all foreign military officers prefer to speak to each other in English.
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And to sum up some of the attitudes here
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"If we believed everything in the movies..."
Just to go along with this slightly off-course direction: have you ever seen Galaxy Quest (a great spoof on Star Trek and one of my favorite comedies). In it there's a low-ranking character with a first name only who is SURE he's going to die right away - like ALL barely-named yeomen do.
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Silence is consent.
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Ouch, Africa isn't even THERE.
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I was referring to the ideology behind the British people.
Britain has a long history of bowing to their monarchy. Its ingrained. No matter that they might now have a different form of government. (Laughable at best)
Why else would they meekly allow the confiscation of their tools of self defense? Or cameras to be put on every street corner?
Well, because the government (queen) is LOOKING OUT FOR THEM!
Right?
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"Britain has a long history of bowing to their monarchy."
Until about 1215 when the Magna Carta was issued. I'd say Britain has a longer history of hobbling their monarchs (roughly 800 years worth) than the US, which didn't get going on that until 1776.
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Silence is consent.
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From wiki
Quote:
The Monarchy of the United Kingdom (commonly referred to as the British monarchy) is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties. As a constitutional monarch, the Queen is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours. Though the ultimate executive authority over the government of the United Kingdom is still by and through the monarch's royal prerogative, in practice these powers are only used according to laws enacted in Parliament or within the constraints of convention and precedent.
Basically the Queen is a figurehead with very little power. She has to get permission to enter parliament and is bound by conventions which limit her role.
Whatever issues you may with British society, it's not about the Queen.
PS I'm not British,
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Quote:Exactly,which was basically my point.Does Barack Obama run the US?.Or is what he does and says governed by the market,the military and the will of the people? He is purely a figurehead and a puppet.He is merely a means by which the real leaders can express themselves through. The last time a US president took it upon himself to express his OWN vision, he had his brains blown out in an open top car!!!! Sorry,but that's politics for ya.
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
From wikiQuote:
The Monarchy of the United Kingdom (commonly referred to as the British monarchy) is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties. As a constitutional monarch, the Queen is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours. Though the ultimate executive authority over the government of the United Kingdom is still by and through the monarch's royal prerogative, in practice these powers are only used according to laws enacted in Parliament or within the constraints of convention and precedent.
Basically the Queen is a figurehead with very little power. She has to get permission to enter parliament and is bound by conventions which limit her role.
Whatever issues you may with British society, it's not about the Queen.
PS I'm not British,
Peacekeeper---keeping order in every verse!!!
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The roles of the President and the Queen are very, very different,in that the President does have powers, legislative, executive and the power of appointment. he's commander in chief of the armed forces and can declare war (I think?). I'm sure that the US posters here will correct and extrapolate.
He also has limits to his powers - and yes, the global financial market and the media and numerous multinationals probably hold more power than he does, however he is the generally regarded as the person who holds the most political power in the world. The Queen, not so much...(although she is very rich).
The President and the British monarchy are alike in some ways, as their positions are both considered to be revered (unlike our prime minister for example). There is something kinglike about the role of the Pres...but then I guess that was what the founding fathers knew of leadership.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
And to sum up some of the attitudes here
That is priceless!
Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com
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