What do you like most about the country you are in now?

NZ is the prettiest country in the world

freedom of speech
autumn
the fact that my friends and homes are in it

That it's a very tolerant country.

We have pretty excellent social programs. Unfortunately they are in trouble from various right-wing governments that like to cut funding to them with the excuse that they have to pay down the deficit. NAFTA doesn't help either.

Except when it comes to those prudish Christian types!

Yes, those loonies are just everywhere. But it's only a very small group with no influence in Dutch politics.

One time, years ago, a Dutch person told me how wonderful the Netherlands became after they kicked out all the stuffy Christian fundamentalist types, and sent them to North America. "Now we can have some fun!"

Fudge! What time is there? You must be up early! It is 2:20 AM here...Crap, don't mind me, I just checked, it is 12:20 PM there...never mind...

lol That's sooo true!!

Anyway, it 11h55 here. That's in the morning.

most of my friends and family are here, as is pretty much all of my stuff. and almost everyone speaks my native language.

The geography, diverse cultural pockets, and the computer and entertainment industries.

My friends live here.

Canada is the most multicultural country in the world. It's the best place to live in the world (says the UN). I love this country.

newspapers

sport coverage

All our serial killers!

It's safe, not too right wing (not like America thank goodness! Even the Democrats are more right-wing than the Tories ), there's cities and countryside (full of burning animals at the moment ) within close distances, people are friendly, we have "stealth taxes" (not very stealthy really - people know you play loads of tax on petrol, and so we should!).......I could go on and on......

Worst thing - making people sit exams, grrrr

"Sport" coverage? You say that in the same breath as "newspapers"?! lol "I only buy it for the sport........."

I must have been off by an hour. Time zones always seem to fudge me up.

Colored money!!!!!!!!!!!!

In which time zone are you?

freedom, capitalism

I meant on the tv...sky sports etc.

I could say that it's that I can worship the One, True God without persecution, but come to think of it, that makes us all lazy in that aspect, and if I lived in a country that didn't allow it, then it would be a a good motivation, I would want it more and do it more and more reverently. I guess the economics are actually quiet well when compared to most countries. Not really sure, but that seems god.

All my friends and family members live here ( USA). That is, except for my SC buddies from Canada, Australia, etc.

The first ammendment!

we are in most basic ways free to be, although i don't like much about the direction our political system may be going........ but we have a say in it and can make changes, protest, speak up, revolt,etc..

The guns

Pacific

Australia has now civil wars & lots of Hare Krishnas!

It is the 2nd largest in the world. We built a railroad that just about evryone in the world thought would be imposible, ahead of scehdule. We gained independence from the British Empire with out going to war.
My Name is Tom and I am Canadian.

Oh...

the... hot... guys

I don't know. Isn't the UN mad at America for human rights violations?

That's sick. We're not really free, in the sense they'd like us to believe. Our "choices" range from bad to worse. Here in NYC the mayor throws people who are exercising their rights of civil disobedience by throwing them in jail immediately.

And Bush is an idiot.

I agree Bush is an idiot a big one!!!

The world just can't take America seriously anymore with a president like that!

How about the Tax Rebates?? Hey, you know, I'll take the money, but it seems pretty dumb to me that they're giving us all money. Invest it. Put it into Social Security. Put it into education!

The mind reels! What a buffoon!

Hey, how's that added arsenic making your drinking water taste?

Hey forget that I want my money

The modern conveniences, the affluent lifestyle even for our poorest, compared to some countries. The health system isn't the greatest, but the general belief in due process of law, and civil rights, is a perk. Not that those things are ALWAYS upheld, but they are respected a great deal more here than they are some places.

That's what they all say........

That's too true. Almost half of the people who voted, voted for him. That's about a quarter of the US electorate and that's a worrying thought!

My friends.
Music stores.
Parties.
High school courses.

You know what you are so lucky you live in an European country. Neatherlands is beautiful.

The weather, freedom (until the left wing takes it), capitalism, the attitude of "She'll be right"

I still have the Netherlands on my list of places I want to go. Still wanna go anythinging over there.

You actually think that the US government can invest your money better than you can?

wide open spaces, freedom, tolerance

I like that I know this place well.

My home. mountains. cats. Lots of rain. Rain. Music. The fact that I still know how to slip away and be an anonymous wanderer. Food. Mexican food. Italian food. Greek food. Beer. Hippies. Punkers. Bikers. Purple haired people. Wind. Video games. Guitars. Beer. Fake birth certificates. Militias of the people. The green party. Parties in the woods. Wooden nickels. Nickle cadmium batteries. Batter dipped mushrooms. Mushrooms! Cities. Forests. The Arkansas river. Indian Springs, Colorado. Bryce Canyon, Utah. Lake michigan...and other stuff.

That's funny , I thought the right wing was trying to take it!

And you're still welcome! Any plans for the near future?

I realize every day I'm lucky!

Nope. I don't think I'll be able to take a trip like that for a while.

I'm so bad with money, a comatose monkey could invest my money better than I!

Everything. I love Canada. I love the people, the different cultures to experience, the scenery, the entertainment, the food etc.

No, it's the left wing that wants to control what you can say and do. It's the left wing that try to ban anything they don't agree with, including some websites. It's the left wing that opposes capitalism, is all for high taxes and economic stagnation. I consider myself center right, and agree that extreme right wingers are dangerous, but I think people underestimate the danger from the loony left. Right wingers might tell you what your saying is bullcrap. Left wingers legislate to ensure you cannot say what they disagree with.

Everything...almost.

remember hitler and nazism is considered right wing politics. and you cant tell me george bush i did anything for our freedom! he is the one who pushed the war on drugs (that his right wing pal reagan started) to new heights of fourth ammendment eradication. whatever tough, i know its all semantics. i prefer to read some of the far right wing literature and the anti government slogans therein, but i am on the left too, in the sense that i am anti-corporate. we don't need to baby and nurture those mega-coprorations with massive tax breaks and one sided legislation that republicans are so fond of handing out to them.

Too bad.. we could have a great time here!

Winter fun!!!

My husband lives here. That's what I like most.

An affluent lifestyle for our poorest? What country are you in?

"Freedom of Speech"
"Freedom Of Religion"
4 seasons,the beaches,the concerts,the foods,the foods,the foods!!

In America?

I know I will get a lot a heat for this one. But I like Brazil because there is a conspicuous absence of undergarments used (or not used) by the women here. (blush)

On New Year's Eve (middle of summer down here), the tradition is to dress in white and go to the beach to cast a flower into the sea for luck.

On New Year's Eve 1999/2000 on the crowded, well illuminated beaches in Rio de Janeiro, most all of the lovely young Brazilian women were scantily clad in translucent garments.

At 12:05 PM, it began to rain! My wife permitted me 5 minutes of ogling, before she slugged me. I love Brazil!

Yep especially in my own home.Then theres the food thing.Lots,& lots,& lots of food.All kinds of food.Mexican,Italian,Chinese,Japanese,Korean,India,Fast foods,you name it .We have almost every kind of food I can think of.

That We have a good President.

Shut up you hairy *&*&*%$#!!!! Its a good thing Gore didn't get in.

Remember Stalin is left wing, and he killed 20 million Jews. Not to mention the amount of people that have died in North Korea, Vietnam and other extreme left dictatorships. I agree with the rejection of corporate control over governments and the unfairness of their level of taxation too. However I also disagree with the left's surrender on many law and order fronts. It seems that if the left can't control law and order issues they legalise everything. Here in Australia, the left have made syringes available to junkies, and some cities even have places set up for them to shoot up. Meanwhile diabetics must pay for their syringes, and drug related crime is out of control. The left have also legalised brothels in some states because it was too hard to stop prostitution. I wonder what's next. Under left wing political correctness will it soon be a crime to discriminate against a pedophile? Should bestiality be taught in the schools as a legitimate sexual practice? Most of what the left put forward is unworkable if the majority race decided to use legislation to ensure they aren't discriminated against in the same way that minorities use it. I recently wrote to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission complaining that I was unable to qualify for subsidised travel and accommodation when I go away to university to study because I am not Aboriginal. I received a response that informed me I could not be being discriminated against because I was white, and under a certain act (passed by a logic challenged lefty) white people are not in need of protection because we have it so good. How can you argue with people who believe in crap like that?

Obviously our great president. And that America has lots of pugs.

Your reply has nothing to say on behalf of Bush! I just think jkiehart isn't mature enough to appreciate a president who gets something done.

But US is even prettier!

well what do you have to say about the american war on drugs?
because of this basically anyone can be searched or harrassed or have their property stolen because they look like they might do drugs. poisonous chemicals are sprayed over suspected drug growing areas with no regard to people who might live around there. the big drug dealers go free because they have the money, while the public is punished. and look what the american government does in coumbia, to stop suspected growers of drugs in that country, they poison the crops, raize the land and assassinate farmers. legalizing drugs (with the possible exception of marijuanna) won't help either, but i would rather have no law than an opressive law.

Why?

Bush is doing a better job than Gore would have done?

Fudging Florida. Bush did NOT win.

America sucks.

Freedom my ass.

I applaud you But tsk, tsk.....language!

Something has to be done though. The argument that legalization of drugs will stop crime is wrong. Alcohol is legal, and ruins lives, but crack and heroin are so much more addictive. The fact that they are legal would not stop people from stealing to fund their habit. I don't agree that people should have their property taken just because they look as if they are doing drugs, but if people have nothing illegal on them, they shouldn't fear being asked to turn out their pockets by police. The fact that big drug dealers go free is the fault of the US legal system where money talks. Big anyone goes free in the US with enough money behind them. Perhaps what is happening in Columbia is justified. If a country was smuggling poison into the US and doping the country through their water supply in order to increase crime, deaths, misery and generally destroy the confidence of the American people, wouldn't that be considered an act of war? How many kids have died as a result of the drugs that are grown in Columbia? How many babies are born brain damaged? How many trillions of dollars worth of hard earned property is stolen to pay for these drugs? Your concern with the perpetrators of the crime, and not the innocents in society is consistent with left wing thinking - those who commit the crime (Columbian drug producers)are blameless because it is really the victims fault (the US public)in the end. It's time we thought of the majority law abiding citizens first. They should have no fear. Anyone producing, distributing or consuming drugs are the criminals. They know before they grow their first seed or take their first hit that what they are doing is considered deviant behaviour by the majority, yet they continue. I say too bad for the Columbian producers of drugs. They are mass murderers, and deserve the death penalty.

i don't have any solution to suggest for the drug issue. like i said legalizing it won't work, unless we are talking about pot. did you know pot was made illegal in the us due to intense lobbying by the paper industry as an attempt to get the hemp competition off the market? nobody really smoked it back then, but they do now, in some cases just because it's illegal. i'm an ex drug addict , i've been addicted to meth and cocaine. even though i don't do it, i did , and like you said above that makes me a criminal. i guess that's why i have to think like one. deviant behavior is relative to the laws of the country one lives in. if blowing your nose is against the law and you blow your nose, you are a criminal and a deviant. with so many ridiculous laws around, i don't feel at all bad about being of a deviant mindset. as far as the drug issue goes, the producers are there to fill a demand. arrest them all and just as many or more will take their place. like i said i am not offering a solution, but someday, somebody in the us government will have to wake up and go looking for one, cause current policy is not it.

No one can make money off of houseplants.

It's funny- I like and dislike so much about the US, all together- I like that we are, technically, a secular country, but dislike that religion has such a huge influence in politics, and then also dislike our massive immorality. I know we have it sooooo good in terms of material wealth, and sometimes I appreciate that and sometimes I reject it (most times something in between). I love the mixing of cultures we have, and am so happy that there are regions of my city in which English is not the primary language, and at the same time I'm bummed that we do not seem to appreciate that aspect of our country enough, and there seems to be so much xenophobia and insufficient attention put into our education systems for other languages and cultures. We have so much potential and yet, seem to get so much so wrong.

I had dinner tonight with a Korean woman who has been in the US for about 10 months. In response to the question "Do you like America?" [sic] she had a great reply:

"I like American people very much. I don't really like American life-style, no values. I like that American people are frank and speak their minds."

Sensory overload. People are too busy just trying to figure out their own culture. When life is simpler (like in an agricultural society) it's easier to extend your boundaries to others. In the mayhem, people are forced to just skim the fleeting surface.

Things I like about England:

* Most of my friends live here.
* It's very green and fertile, which is nice.
* It has a pleasant climate.
* It has a lot of history that we can justifiably be very proud of (such as inventing modern democracy).
* It's generally very safe.
* It's close to lots of other interesting and pleasant countries.
* We've got some of the best football (soccer) teams in the world.
* Cricket!
* English beer (and English pubs) .
* Traditional architecture. Old churches, manor houses, castles, etc.
* Religious freedom.

Things I dislike:

* Transport sucks. The roads are congested and the trains and buses are crap.
* Current political trends are towards less personal freedom.
* Modern architecture. OK, so it's improved a bit lately, but over most of the latter 20th century we seemed to be absolutely clueless about how to design an interesting contemporary building.
* The police seem more interested in catching people driving a bit too fast than dealing with real criminals. (I may be a bit biased on this as my car was stolen last week )

whatya mean?

Weed lost popularity to products people can't make at home. When do you ever see automobile ads glorify weedlike qualities? On the other hand they much seem to push the virtues of a cokish life style. For that matter, when do you ever see ads for anything with an actually decent cost:fun ratio like a deck of playing cards, a hula-hoop, embroidery yarn or any other time consuming pastime other than video games which practically require a subscription.

A really large building could benefit from dome construction, possibly with the wedge cut to catch the sun, but where such large buildings are needed, floor space is at too great a premium. In smaller buildings the cube has the greatest volume to material ratio. Half a century ago we had the resources to do incredible architecture, stock fish in local parks, build playgrounds everywhere, connect neighborhoods with electric trains, build hydroelectric dams and vast bridges. People had china cabinets, liquor cabinets, console stereos 12' wide, yards often with pools, cars with fins and a ton of chrome. Houses in which every detail was full of skilled craftsmanship. Today we have the resources for video games and live on a fleck of crystal ball.

I don't know, I've known quite a few people in my life who spend all their money on weed. i don't smoke it myself, but i do know the many uses of hemp, and were it farmed for paper many people would buy it just because it is eco-friendly.

I agree on that. Colchicine transfigured superweed was the accidental product of E.M. Warmke working for the war effort to create ropes that sailors couldn't smoke. Hemp paper didn't fly because cost per pound of cellulose, it's cheaper to chop down an old growth forest.

I did know about the paper industry calling for the banning of hemp. When people used to make paper out of hemp I guess nobody thought of smoking it. It's true that deviant behaviour is set by those who wish to modify the behaviour of others, but I ask you, if you travelled to Saudi Arabia and began walking around with your shirt off smoking a joint, you would expect to be punished wouldn't you?. It's the same with people involved in the drug trade. They know what they are doing goes against the laws of most countries, but they continue anyway. I saw a possible solution on TV here where a geneticist was talking about immunizing babies at birth against drug and tobacco addiction and alcoholism, which they are apparently working on now. You said you don't feel bad about being of a deviant mindset, but how would you feel if you were an injecting drug user, and you received free needles from the government because of the choices you made, but diabetics, who do not choose to be that way, must pay for their needles or die? Shouldn't more privileges be given to the majority who are law abiding citizens?

Less personal freedom under Labour lefties? No! never!

i would die before i let any doctor inject my baby with any kind of genetic or social manipulation. about the needle thing, i don't see a solution. it doesnt work either way. i understand why they give free needles to junkies, but its a stupid idea. some iv drug users here are totaly conscious of the dangers of using dirty needles and don't do it. but handing out free ones to prevent the spread of disease makes it a lot easier for someone to get high who otherwise might not.

The diabetics are not desperate out of control people likely to kill themselves by sharing needles. Drug use can also be seen as a case where society is at fault, and of course lefties believe in making collective intrusive amends on such issues. In the US your particular case isn't valid anyhow. Poor people get free or share of cost health care. Junkies are just presumed poor.

It's not America.

No, there's less personal freedom under Labour righties! I don't think you could describe the current Labour party as "left-wing", any more

NO WAY!!!!!!!!

Don't you think a person whose illness occurs due to genetics or some other uncontrollable cause should be given priority over someone whose illness is self inflicted? I don't believe that society, you and I, are responsible for the decision that some idiot made at a party one day to stick a needle in themselves. That is the problem with left wing (sorry to harp on about the left) ideology. Individual responsibilty means nothing. The left believe everyone who acts irresponsibly does so because of society and not because of any choices they make. Some kids are tortured as children, there is no other word for what they go through, yet they grow up to be incredible people. While the left concentrate on the social dropouts - those who choose to defy all the norms and values the majority adhere to - the "good" people are receiving less positive reinforcement for their actions, and consequently are losing their sense of fairness and justice. Junkies are not pitied anymore, they are hated because it is known they cause most of the crime, yet they are treated with kid gloves by the government. They leave their needles in kindergarten sandpits, bash old people for money, and the government pours money into methodone programs and shooting galleries so a doctor is present if they OD. That money should be spent on airconditioning schools or paying teachers more.

What about numbering all needles and having them locked in a safe at hospitals. If any go missing they can be identified by the number and investigations made into how they were made available to a junkie. If all needles are strictly controlled it would at least solve the problem of dirty needles being left around the streets, although I'm sure the smackies would improvise some way in which to "wack their crap"

Labour righties? They made a big deal on TV here in Aussie about how certain political parties were prevented from speaking at public meetings. I don't care what their politics are, all parties should be allowed to speak. Gagging people who say things the government deems politically incorrect (even if it is the truth) seems like a very left wing thing to do. I think Labour have got a fair way to go before they come close to the center, let alone the right.

I am hopelessly heterosexual. The female form is a continuing delight to me. Such geometry, such balance, such motion, such...(sigh)

sure. i knew a guy who told me in viet nam they used to sharpen the tips of ink pens and fill them with morphine. then, because there was no suction effect, someone else would have to suck on it after it was was in the vein and then blow the dope in. very dangerous because one single bubble of oxygen in your vein can kill you.
i don't know about your numbered needle suggestion. weren't you the one who was just saying the lefties want to take all of our freedom away? that idea and the one about doctors immunizing babies against 'genetic disorders' like addiction would be something i would expect right wingers to take up arms against. things like that are precursors to our total loss of civil freedom. the more i read your comments the more i notice you attribute things to the left that i would consider 'right wing' ideology and vise versa. maybe the lines are becoming blurred and we cant use the left or the right to blame everything on anymore. i used to bash the right wing until i discovered that most extreme right wing literature said stuff i agreed with. i usually considered myself left wing until i saw the left going extreme and ridiculous with what could have been good ideas. who knows...i still don't like the republican party in the usa though!

The Bill of Rights.

Yeah, I mentioned that to him (the reversal thing). This censorship is yet another example.

Just today someone asked me if I knew where to find an outfit. I was in the midst of explaining that I shop at thrift stores and don't know the local area at all when I realized I was in the parking of a methadone clinic. I'm their last non drug recovery patient there. I exchanged phone and email today with a sweet intelligent and conscious gal on detox (not on maintenance, whatever that difference might mean) .

One gal was experiencing a horrendously painful time with an injection (my blood test went absolutely painless as expected). It was the first time I'd ever heard bad news there. My head practically caught on fire while listening to her rave about it. When I got home, I heard on the news that Timothy McVeighs execution had happened at the same time. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I tend to experience public executions telepathically and finding about them on the news later. My guess is that so many people are serving as channels to them. I'm sure far worse suffering is happening all the time without it affecting me.
ps. I've been planning to get around to a reading, but so many deadline things like making presents for my childrens birthdays have been up. Tomorrow I represent 40,000 people on public housing, and haven't prepared for that other than reading the cities latest draft of the agency plan (they seem to have not adopted any of my proposals or even repaired the types I indicated).