The problem is that isn't just jamesbaf that needs to watch his mouth. As I have said, I appreciate all the moderates on this forum, but some of the younger guys here need to put their tits on ice.

Yeah, but I'm not worried about those forums. I'm worried about this forum. I am not a masochist, so I try to avoid sites like the British army rumour service. And what an inferiority complex those boys have, let me tell you.

I (and the vast majority of Americans) don't  care what the jagoffs on Pax Britannia.com say.  I won't make my case there. They can say all they want in their own little circle jerks, but here I would like to see it toned down. I know it may be too much to ask. Like I said, I don't care about other forums, but I do care about this forum, because it is an american forum. But I wouldn't make the mistake of assuming that I have not seen those sad sites that they call military forums with 500 Jamesbafs (with the idiocy and lack of knowledge of anything military that goes on in them, jamesbaf would be right at home). I got to ask you yimmy, you seem very wary of this forum because it is as "right-winf and pro-american" as it gets. Are you here because you like to engage in thoughtful discussion or are you just a masochist?

All right, maybe I got a little out of hand and made premature judgements about people. For that I apologize, but I have noticed certain posters have never given the US any benefit of the doubt in any of their posts. Yimmy, I have to admit I dtill find it difficult to peg you, as badnews said, you have been a moderate voice plenty of times, but you have also made some comments  that were uncalled for.

I wouldn't say that the rest of the world looks at socialism in relative terms. The Japanese, the world's #2 economy, is very capitalist, as are many other asian countries. The Middle East comes to mind when talking about little to no socialism. Hell, one of those Saudis has a house worth 1 billion dollars. They suck the oil out of the coutnry, and hoard it for themselves, and there aren't many of those social programs that Europe loves. Except for the 2% the prohpet Mohammed said to give to the poor, which many don't do anyways. The only place where socialism is rampant is in Europe and Canada. I think you should refrain on making judgements about the US and comparing them to the rest of the world. As many people love to tell us, there is a world outside of the US. But the same can be said about Europeans and Canadians, as they tend to think that their values are the same as those of the rest of the world, when it is not. You seem to have a view that the US is this isolated country that lives in ignorance, and that the rest of the world is holding hands. As for Canada, while it may be socialist (you have the same income tax since WW1) is very much like the US in culture and character, and yes, even ignorance of the outside world. I lived in Montreal for 5 years. Quebec is very European and very different from the state. But anything west of the Quebec-Toronto border would look like the 51'st state to someone off the old boat.

dk i did say the rest of the first world is socialist not the entire world.

while americans and canadians superficially look the same if you scratch the paint a bit you find they are quite different in their outlook on the world.  i keep getting the mackeral to the face feeling talking with americans because of that.  all chatting along happily and then boom one of the bedrock certainties about how the world works will pop up and suddenly we're looking across a very deep canyon at each other.

as for there being a world outside your own country stand on a street corner of your choice and ask the next hundred people who go by some questions about what's going on in the world.  you'd find that americans are going to score near the bottom of the list of western countries for general awareness of what's going on.  your media devotes less attention to world affairs in general than any of the other countries news media so unless you make an effort to stay informed your far more likely to know the current status of anna nicole smith's inquest than you are to know that le pen has entered the french election race.

Japan is not socialist, and it's the second best economy in the world. I would also go so far to say that the average Ontarian knows just about as much as an Ohio farm boy about world affairs. I lived in Canada for 5 years, and I can tell you that I did not meet many people who knew what was going on outside of North America. Why is this? Because Canada and the US are very close economically. (Though, you make it very clear that we rarely see eye to eye when it comes to moral issues, which I have heard a lot of this exagerrated Canadian moral superiority over Americans.) The US-Canadian border has more trade pass through it than any other border in the world...Ask yourself this, why would I read about the French election if it doesn't concern me? You may disagree, but I will retort by asking you if you follow the elections in Mozambique, to which you will probably reply no. US politics very much affect what goes on in Canada economically, hence the reason why Canadians keep a close eye on the US. However, when talking to a Canadian about the rest of the world, you will find that he knows no more than your average yank. The reason Europeans seem to be more culturally aware is because they have to be. Hell, you can travel across Europe in a two day car trip, passing dozens of different cultures and different countries. I don't expect you to put any stock in this argument, as blaming the US for ignorance (among many other things) seems to be the in thing nowadays. But instead of making all your judgements in 2 hour shopping trips to Plattsburgh, New York, or even a nice long weekend in the big apple, why not come and see different parts of the US. Instead of making ignorant claims about the media in the US after watching the O Reilly factor on Fox news, why not read some private journals out there such as Foreign Affairs and the Manhattan Journal, which I might add gives a much more balanced view of the world than any media source I have seen in Europe or Canada. The problem is that too many people see the US how they want to see it, and believe me, it shows. The equivalent would be me going to the Molson Center to see a Canadiens game and underline the whole of Canadian culture from that one experience.