What happens when you oppose Bu$hCo too vigorously

[stevebaby]

I believe it has been well established that American public schools do NOT teach geography. 50% of high school seniors in California could not place THE PACIFIC OCEAN! (My kids go to private school - natch) However, this only proves that our superior economic system allows morons to do well enough to travel to places like Australia, even if by accident .

There is no surer way to enrage a Kiwi than to confuse Australia and New Zealand.Auckland is in New Zealand.
Americans aren't very significant to Australia's tourism industry.They don't stay very long and don't spend much.British,Irish,Swedish,German,Dutch and French tourists are much more important.japanese and Chinese tourists are very important and although they also don't stay long,they spend up big.
A few of the Americans that I met told me that they often only get a couple of weeks vacation time per year (which rises with length of service to their employer).Europeans are entitled to much better working conditions and the ones who come here are pretty well paid.
Just out of curiousity...what sort of paid vacation time do most Americans have?

The best public schools here have consistently performed better than private schools.Private schools are very well resourced and perform well,but they are frequently a second choice.They are IMO,more about social networking.

 

[BillM]

There is no surer way to enrage a Kiwi than to confuse Australia and New Zealand.Auckland is in New Zealand.
Americans aren't very significant to Australia's tourism industry.They don't stay very long and don't spend much.British,Irish,Swedish,German,Dutch and French tourists are much more important.japanese and Chinese tourists are very important and although they also don't stay long,they spend up big.
A few of the Americans that I met told me that they often only get a couple of weeks vacation time per year (which rises with length of service to their employer).Europeans are entitled to much better working conditions and the ones who come here are pretty well paid.
Just out of curiousity...what sort of paid vacation time do most Americans have?

The best public schools here have consistently performed better than private schools.Private schools are very well resourced and perform well,but they are frequently a second choice.They are IMO,more about social networking.

I don't know if I am typical but I have 4 weeks of paid vacation annually.

And another note....tourists from any nation that can afford to fly to another continent on vacation...are likely to be well paid....no matter what country they are from.

 

[limerickman]

I guess it's lucky for Ireland that it doesn't have anything that anyone wants then eh.

But unfortunately for the Middle East - it - has a commodity which the USA needs and cannot function without : oil.

Of course none of which addresses the central issue - why is the USA in the Middle East ?

 

[BillM]

But unfortunately for the Middle East - it - has a commodity which the USA needs and cannot function without : oil.

Of course none of which addresses the central issue - why is the USA in the Middle East ?

Well obviously so we can steal all the oil. We are right now pumping it through a secret underground pipeline straight to Crawford Texas.

Everyone knows that.

 

[limerickman]

Well obviously so we can steal all the oil. We are right now pumping it through a secret underground pipeline straight to Crawford Texas.

Everyone knows that.

Nope.

What they do know though is that (another) pack of lies were thrown out to try to vindicate yer country's presence in a region which it (USA) has no business to be in.

 

[davidmc]

There is no surer way to enrage a Kiwi than to confuse Australia and New Zealand.Auckland is in New Zealand.
Americans aren't very significant to Australia's tourism industry.They don't stay very long and don't spend much.British,Irish,Swedish,German,Dutch and French tourists are much more important.japanese and Chinese tourists are very important and although they also don't stay long,they spend up big.
A few of the Americans that I met told me that they often only get a couple of weeks vacation time per year (which rises with length of service to their employer).Europeans are entitled to much better working conditions and the ones who come here are pretty well paid.
Just out of curiousity...what sort of paid vacation time do most Americans have?

The best public schools here have consistently performed better than private schools.Private schools are very well resourced and perform well,but they are frequently a second choice.They are IMO,more about social networking.

My father wanted to go to NZ but couldn't reconcile the fact that the airfare was going to cost him plenty. He is a retired ivy league educated lawyer. It appears that you are directly on the other side of the globe from us. You are lucky, in a way Has our pop-culture made any in-roads over,down there

 

[davidmc]

Trains are the most efficient form of land transport. The US rail system is shambolic even by the pathetic standard set by the post-Privatisation British system.

Yes but trains are fueled by that icky pollution causing coal Interestingly, this web site mentions the condition of yer errr...how shall I say this ...world class transportation system , as a byline to the main story which is quite interesting

Two well-regarded films by the same team used the same pseudodocumentary style to imagine the ramifications of disastrous events, but were set in Britain. One, “The Day Britain Stopped,” showed Britain’s overstretched transportation system in meltdown after a series of mishaps cripples first the trains and then the roads, leading finally to the point when a passenger jet collides with a freight plane near Heathrow.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/02/m...57860800&en=c9347075d645b12c&ei=5070&emc=eta1

 

[darkboong]

Yes but trains are fueled by that icky pollution causing coal

That's pretty rare these days, trains are usually fuelled by Diesal or Electricity (Wind/Water/Nuclear/Coal). The majority of oil is burnt in transport, so moving to a more efficient form of transportation will surely help.

FWIW Coal can be relatively clean, particularly with the CO2 reclaimation methods they're coming up with now.

 

[BillM]

Nope.

What they do know though is that (another) pack of lies were thrown out to try to vindicate yer country's presence in a region which it (USA) has no business to be in.

Gas is down to 2.35 a gallon from about 3 bucks 2 weeks ago.

The pumps are working overtime and we are stealing oil at a furious rate.

 

[stevebaby]

My father wanted to go to NZ but couldn't reconcile the fact that the airfare was going to cost him plenty. He is a retired ivy league educated lawyer. It appears that you are directly on the other side of the globe from us. You are lucky, in a way Has our pop-culture made any in-roads over,down there

Airfares have come down...for the time being.LA-Auckland is around $US1500.
American pop-culture is all over the place...TV and movies especially,mostly due to the practice of "dumping" films and TV programmes at lower cost than locally produced stuff.Fortunately we have a couple of Government-owned Free-to-air TV stations,ABC and SBS.SBS is a multi-cultural station showing films from all over,so we get Japanese and Iranian films,German and French TV etc.We also got 5hrs a day live coverage of the Tour,World Cup (Soccer) games.Great stuff generally. It's sometimes called Sex,Bikes and Soccer or Soccer,Bloody Soccer.
The ABC shows the best of British drama and comedy and a lot of current affairs and documentaries,mostly from Britain and a few from Canada.SBS also has The PBS "Jim Lehrer's News Hour" which is pretty good.Cable is pretty much the same all over i.e the same ****.
There was something on TV tonight about Hyde School's Rugby program in D.C. I'll put a link in in case anyone's interested.They're getting assistance from the New Zealand Embassy so maybe a bit of real culture will start heading north.

 

[davidmc]

Airfares have come down...for the time being.LA-Auckland is around $US1500.
American pop-culture is all over the place...TV and movies especially,mostly due to the practice of "dumping" films and TV programmes at lower cost than locally produced stuff.Fortunately we have a couple of Government-owned Free-to-air TV stations,ABC and SBS.SBS is a multi-cultural station showing films from all over,so we get Japanese and Iranian films,German and French TV etc.We also got 5hrs a day live coverage of the Tour,World Cup (Soccer) games.Great stuff generally. It's sometimes called Sex,Bikes and Soccer or Soccer,Bloody Soccer.
The ABC shows the best of British drama and comedy and a lot of current affairs and documentaries,mostly from Britain and a few from Canada.SBS also has The PBS "Jim Lehrer's News Hour" which is pretty good.Cable is pretty much the same all over i.e the same ****.
There was something on TV tonight about Hyde School's Rugby program in D.C. I'll put a link in in case anyone's interested.They're getting assistance from the New Zealand Embassy so maybe a bit of real culture will start heading north.

Sounds like you blokes have the best of both worlds. Congrats. I would like to visit one day. I have been in that area, in the past, when I was cruising the pacific in a destroyer however we were only able to get off of the boat in Fremantle/Perth which I enjoyed immensely. I would have liked to got ot Oz, however.

 

[davidmc]

Agreed - Eoin.


The overdependence on oil in the West - and the USA in particular - needs to be addressed.

Wise goverment would try to develop other sources of energy to power transport (plane/car/train), light and heat etc.
Alternative energy sources would seem to be the way to go (not wishing to put your job at risk - Eoin!)

But as you say, these same goverments overdependence on oil, leads them in to inventing reasons to invade countries who just happen to have vast supplies of oil.
Expediency.

This is true BUT, remember we are the country that produced Henry Ford & Richard Shelby. This country was one of the first to have a love affair w/ the automobile. It is worth noting that our country is relatively large & not that easy to get @ as opposed to Europe where trains go to many places. We do have to get off of our petroleum dependence sooner or later & the former would be more beneficial.

 

[davidmc]

That's pretty rare these days, trains are usually fuelled by Diesal or Electricity (Wind/Water/Nuclear/Coal). The majority of oil is burnt in transport, so moving to a more efficient form of transportation will surely help.

FWIW Coal can be relatively clean, particularly with the CO2 reclaimation methods they're coming up with now.

Did you visit the hyperlink on my post #267 I think you will find it most interesting.

 

[davidmc]

Trains are the most efficient form of land transport. The US rail system is shambolic even by the pathetic standard set by the post-Privatisation British system.

this is an american car made by the owners of Vauxhall-GM. It was featured on a UK television program. It is worth over 1 million Quid-5 to be exact. It runs on hydrogen and produces for an exhaust-H2O I formally accept your apology in advance
http://www.youtube.com/v/ry6w3mRm-FM

 

[davidmc]

43 bashes 41. 41's policies come to fruition for a select few SUV owners

 

[EoinC]

...What fuel do trucks run on in Europe

I believe most EC Countries have set a minimum level for a bio-diesel component in commercial diesel - currently around 5% and anticipated to rise as the infrastructure for bio-diesel production (rape seed and soy bean) is installed. Diesel prices are at a stage of where bio-diesel is a viable alternative, largely held back by production and distribution systems being in their early stages of development.
Good to see that some governments are recognising that changes are going to be thrust upon them in the not-too-distant future, and are taking mitigating steps to reduce the pain associated with those changes.
My industry (drilling for offshore oil & gas) has made little in the way of discovering new fields over the last 10 years, inspite of large technological advances. Most of our work now is based around enhancing production from existing fields - chasing that which was previously technically impossible, or economically unviable to extract.
Whilst one way of gaining access to "new" fields is to invade (militarily or economically) Nations who are not currently supplying one, this is a short-term solution, merely delays the inevitable. A more long-term benifit is likely to come from recognising what the future holds, and beginning to address it now.
There is no single solution - It has to be a multi-faceted approach, and has to be addressed early if you don't want to be held ransom to suddenly skyrocketing fuel prices in the future (10 years?). Hydrocarbon products are used for a lot of what makes our societies so liveable. At the moment, we are sucking the resources out as fast as we can manage, giving scant regard to what sort of a future we are creating for future generations.
My wife spends about AUD $100 / week on petrol, largely driving our children to / from school and sports etc. Whilst she may complain about how much it costs, it doesn't stop her doing it. What might help her reduce her use would be having a public transport system that allowed for at least some of the journies to be completed sans gas-guzzler. She wants to buy a new car, but I am loathe to do so until I see some indication of which direction this Country (Australia) is going to take. In the meantime, the pushie looks good...

 

[EoinC]

...however we were only able to get off of the boat in Fremantle/Perth which I enjoyed immensely. I would have liked to got ot Oz, however.

David, Fremantle is in Oz (I live there). What sort of navigation did they teach you in the Navy? Where were you meant to be?

 

[stevebaby]

Airfares have come down...for the time being.LA-Auckland is around $US1500.
American pop-culture is all over the place...TV and movies especially,mostly due to the practice of "dumping" films and TV programmes at lower cost than locally produced stuff.Fortunately we have a couple of Government-owned Free-to-air TV stations,ABC and SBS.SBS is a multi-cultural station showing films from all over,so we get Japanese and Iranian films,German and French TV etc.We also got 5hrs a day live coverage of the Tour,World Cup (Soccer) games.Great stuff generally. It's sometimes called Sex,Bikes and Soccer or Soccer,Bloody Soccer.
The ABC shows the best of British drama and comedy and a lot of current affairs and documentaries,mostly from Britain and a few from Canada.SBS also has The PBS "Jim Lehrer's News Hour" which is pretty good.Cable is pretty much the same all over i.e the same ****.
There was something on TV tonight about Hyde School's Rugby program in D.C. I'll put a link in in case anyone's interested.They're getting assistance from the New Zealand Embassy so maybe a bit of real culture will start heading north.

Derrrrr....I forgot the link.
http://www.washingtonrugbyclub.org/mainart/youth/hyde_school_rugby.htm
Hyde School Rugby

 

[darkboong]

this is an american car made by the owners of Vauxhall-GM. It was featured on a UK television program. It is worth over 1 million Quid-5 to be exact. It runs on hydrogen and produces for an exhaust-H2O I formally accept your apology in advance
http://www.youtube.com/v/ry6w3mRm-FM

There are some serious issues with Hydrogen powered vehicles. The biggest one is storing the hyrdogen (which is highly volatile). The problem with Hydrogen is that it's one of the smallest atoms out there which means that it is practically impossible to build a container to store it and it'll go pop very easily when it's mixed with O2 and a spark... Could be a problem if a car was left standing for a bit...

 

[nns1400]

There is no surer way to enrage a Kiwi than to confuse Australia and New Zealand.Auckland is in New Zealand.
Americans aren't very significant to Australia's tourism industry.They don't stay very long and don't spend much.British,Irish,Swedish,German,Dutch and French tourists are much more important.japanese and Chinese tourists are very important and although they also don't stay long,they spend up big.
A few of the Americans that I met told me that they often only get a couple of weeks vacation time per year (which rises with length of service to their employer).Europeans are entitled to much better working conditions and the ones who come here are pretty well paid.
Just out of curiousity...what sort of paid vacation time do most Americans have?

The best public schools here have consistently performed better than private schools.Private schools are very well resourced and perform well,but they are frequently a second choice.They are IMO,more about social networking.

Here's what I know about New Zealand: Keith Urban, kiwi fruit. Love'em both. Now I will add Auckland to my inventory.

I had to laugh about the social networking! You would too if you saw my kids' school. It is very...humble. We have a lot of immigrant families from Asia and Bosnia. Great teachers getting way less money than their public counterparts who spend the day asking kids how they feel. About math. When you have Maya Angelou poetry in your math book, something is wrong.

One look at how we compare in testing vs other industrialized nations will tell you about our public schools. As I said, geography isn't even a subject anymore. Oh, well. Ain't never goin' noplace else anyhows....