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British anti-Americanism 'based on misconceptions'
Telegraph (UK) ^ | Aug 18, 2008 | Alex Spillius

Posted on 08/18/2008 5:50:22 AM PDT by decimon

British attitudes towards the United States are governed by ignorance of the facts on key issues such as crime, health care and foreign policy, according to a new survey.

Donald Rumsfeld and Saddam Hussein in 1983. Respondents believe the US sold over a quarter of Saddam's arsenal to him

A poll of nearly 2,000 Britons by YouGov/PHI found that 70 per cent of respondents incorrectly said it was true that the US had done a worse job than the European Union in reducing carbon emissions since 2000. More than 50 per cent presumed that polygamy was legal in the US, when it is illegal in all 50 states.

The poll was commissioned by America In The World , an independent pressure group that launches on Monday and aims to improve understanding and appreciation of the US in Britain and around the world.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: antiamericanism
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1 posted on 08/18/2008 5:50:22 AM PDT by decimon
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To: decimon

You mean polygamy is ILLEGAL?????

I am in DEEP trouble!!


2 posted on 08/18/2008 5:53:23 AM PDT by WayneS (Sarcasm Alert!!! (for the thick-headed))
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ping


3 posted on 08/18/2008 5:54:17 AM PDT by GulfBreeze (Ronald Reagan Would Back McCain http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1970504/posts?page=1)
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To: decimon
attitudes towards the United States are governed by ignorance of the facts

LOL! Captain Obvious to the rescue!

Respondents believe the US sold over a quarter of Saddam's arsenal to him

Ask the Soviets and Frenchies for Saddam's arsenal.

4 posted on 08/18/2008 5:55:31 AM PDT by SolidWood (God Bless Georgia and grant them victory over Russia!)
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To: WayneS
You mean polygamy is ILLEGAL?????

Polygamy being legal is just a line GIs dropped on birds in pubs. :-)

5 posted on 08/18/2008 5:56:06 AM PDT by decimon
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To: decimon
British attitudes towards the United States are governed by ignorance of the facts on key issues such as crime, health care and foreign policy...

Which can be traced to a floundering Lobour/socialist UK government and increasingly restive and unrepresented British public; assisted in large part by their American equivalent.

6 posted on 08/18/2008 5:56:31 AM PDT by yankeedame ("Oh, I can take it but I'd much rather dish it out.")
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To: decimon

I remember a european who thought every day in the USA was a movie shootout.


7 posted on 08/18/2008 5:58:07 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: decimon

I seriously doubt most of us Yanks know that much more about our Brit cousins but when it comes to dental care we beat them hands down.


8 posted on 08/18/2008 5:58:07 AM PDT by DogBarkTree (The correct word isn't "immigrant" when what they are doing is "invading".)
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To: WayneS

I don’t know about where you live, but the penalties for polygamy in North Carolina are severe.

You have to live with all of them.


9 posted on 08/18/2008 6:03:02 AM PDT by wolfpat (If you don't like the Patriot Act, you're really gonna hate Sharia Law.)
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To: wolfpat
"I don’t know about where you live, but the penalties for polygamy in North Carolina are severe. You have to live with all of them."

You goof balls! LOL! Is it any wonder the world can't get a grip on what we are about?

10 posted on 08/18/2008 6:06:44 AM PDT by Earthdweller
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To: DogBarkTree
And we have a clear win in the area of automotive electronics. Ever compared the inside of a Lucas alternator to a Delco ?
11 posted on 08/18/2008 6:11:20 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: decimon

Jiminy whillickers, Auntie Em!!! You mean the duplicitous DBM in the UK has MISLED the yutes in the UK about their cousins in America!!??

Wowsers!! Next thing you know they’ll tell them that the sun rises in the east in America, too!!! That should REALLY make their yutes nuts!!!


12 posted on 08/18/2008 6:19:13 AM PDT by DustyMoment (FloriDUH - proud inventors of pregnant/hanging chads and judicide!!)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
And we have a clear win in the area of automotive electronics. Ever compared the inside of a Lucas alternator to a Delco ?

Ogodno, please not that. I just got though troubleshooting a Jaguar. Found and fixed the problem a few minutes before I was considering drinking all the antifreeze and ending it all. All day for a two dollar diode, and I HAD all the manuals.

Now they probably hate me for fixing it. Lucas, Prince Of Darkness. The alternator is a Bosch, though.

13 posted on 08/18/2008 6:28:34 AM PDT by Gorzaloon
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To: Gorzaloon

I owned 4 of these cars during my mis-spent youth. All were lovely but had the dispicable Lucas electric system, where no manufactured piece was ever rejected for being substandard. A mechanic buddy from Des Moines (more mechanical than me) uncovered a Delco of England cross reference manual. Turns out a Pontiac voltage regulator and (with minor modification) a Cadillac Delcotron alternator worked perfectly. Mallory made a replacement distributor that was a drop in. The starting/charging problems with my Jaguar were resolved.


14 posted on 08/18/2008 6:35:28 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: decimon

Bump for later.


15 posted on 08/18/2008 7:08:39 AM PDT by Question_Assumptions
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
Ever compared the inside of a Lucas alternator to a Delco ?

Yes!. The horror! The horror! In a former career I actually repaired Lucas alternators and starters!

As my brother-in-law once said, the Brits are the worlds best at picking a bad design and sticking with it!

16 posted on 08/18/2008 7:18:51 AM PDT by 6ppc (It's torch and pitchfork time)
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To: DogBarkTree

It surely does cut both ways (certainly does based on some of the comments Ive seen about the UK on this site).

Where DO you get this dental care thing about Britain from though? Most Brits are utterly oblivious to it. Is there any kind of evidence at all (other than anecdotal) that Brits have bad teeth?


17 posted on 08/18/2008 7:18:56 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: WayneS
You mean polygamy is ILLEGAL?????

I am in DEEP trouble!!

And you aren't even talking about the government!

18 posted on 08/18/2008 7:20:55 AM PDT by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: decimon

Interesting article, but they could have done without mentioning the “positive effects” of the American environmental movement. I have Brit in-laws, so I know first-hand about misconceptions. We have our own here too concerning Britain.


19 posted on 08/18/2008 7:21:55 AM PDT by driftless2
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To: decimon

American anti-Americanism ‘based on misconceptions’


20 posted on 08/18/2008 7:22:19 AM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ("Don't touch that thing")
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To: longtermmemmory
"shootout"

I had an ex-girl friend who had a sister who married a German national. He forbade his wife to travel by car on American highways when she visited due to the unbelievable amount of deaths by shooting that occurred on a daily basis on our highways. It was all I could do to keep from falling down laughing. Needless to say when we took my girl friends sister and her children on drives around the area, nobody was shot to death. We did however see quite a few animals who were killed by their odd practice of taking naps in the middle of the road.

21 posted on 08/18/2008 7:27:24 AM PDT by driftless2
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To: longtermmemmory

No doubt about it. I’ve met Euros (Asians too) who believe movies and TV shows represent American life. You can even tell them they’re not real. It has little effect.


22 posted on 08/18/2008 7:30:57 AM PDT by Varda
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To: Vanders9
"bad teeth"

My English born and raised wife doesn't have bad teeth, but they're not great either. She blamed the NHS which she said simply didn't do a very good job of providing adequate dental care in the years past. Most of the Brits with bad teeth are probably of the older sort who grew up in the two decades after WWII when resources were limited. Remember Britain didn't go off rationing until some years after the war. And they elected a number of socialist governments which didn't help much.

23 posted on 08/18/2008 7:33:37 AM PDT by driftless2
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To: Varda
I respond to the Japanese by asking them if all they do is run stupid obstacle courses and eat beach scraps at over priced kiosks.
24 posted on 08/18/2008 7:35:59 AM PDT by mad_as_he$$ (Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.)
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To: mad_as_he$$

Exactly. You have to remind them that movies don’t represent their countries either. It’s funny.


25 posted on 08/18/2008 7:39:02 AM PDT by Varda
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To: driftless2

“My English born and raised wife doesn’t have bad teeth, but they’re not great either. She blamed the NHS which she said simply didn’t do a very good job of providing adequate dental care in the years past. Most of the Brits with bad teeth are probably of the older sort who grew up in the two decades after WWII when resources were limited. Remember Britain didn’t go off rationing until some years after the war. And they elected a number of socialist governments which didn’t help much.”


I was talking to a young socialist who was promoting socialized medicine. I said sure, look at how good a job on dental care in England.

She said: “Everyone knows that the English dental problems are because of genetics!”


26 posted on 08/18/2008 7:40:04 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: decimon

The media over here keep on and on about the US arming Saddam. It’s no wonder that the people believe it.


27 posted on 08/18/2008 7:47:16 AM PDT by plenipotentiary (Free the Oil, Topple the Saudis)
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To: Just another Joe

Ahh, so YOU didn’t know either?


28 posted on 08/18/2008 7:50:05 AM PDT by WayneS (Respect the 2nd Amendment; Repeal the 16th)
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To: driftless2

The UK didn’t go off rationing until 1951 or so. The war, loss of their empire and the enormous debt they owed to the US were part of the reason this went on as long as it did.


29 posted on 08/18/2008 8:16:55 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: decimon

I have run into some unbelievably tragi-comic misapprehensions about the USA in my travels to the UK. One one occasion, my wife was strolling in downtown Hull, England while I was tied up in a lengthy business meeting. That afternoon, some obviously unbalanced fellow marched into a pub with a shotgun and murdered one of the patrons. This happens rarely in England, so the news spread like wildfire. When my wife returned to the office, one of the secretaries apologized to her for the unfortunate and upsetting event, but then said something along the lines of - “well, you ARE from the US, aren’t you. This sort of stuff must be comonplace to you.”

On another occasion, I had a chat with a restaurant waiter who had a burning desire to see NYC but was terrified by what he believed to be a rampant US AIDS epidemic leaving victims strewn about the streets of our cities.

I propose a hearty round of applause for Hollywood and the US media for their excellent efforts in presenting the best face of our nation to the world.


30 posted on 08/18/2008 8:21:33 AM PDT by Senator John Blutarski (The progress of government: republic, democracy, technocracy, bureaucracy, plutocracy, kleptocracy,)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

The best fix I’ve found for a Jaguar was to drop a GM V8 into it. Tends to cure those overheating problems too.


31 posted on 08/18/2008 9:16:04 AM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: count-your-change
When Jaguar was an independent company, they didn't have the money to chase down better suppliers and most of the time, projects were jobbed out. The DOHC 6 cyl engine was made by Standard (they made Triumph parts) and the transmission was initially a non-synchro Moss box. In 1965, when more power was required, a slightly bigger block was required to get proper bore spacing for 4.2 liters but no money was available to make a new head. So even though it doesn't fit perfectly over the cylinders, the 3.8 head continued on the 4.2 engine. I've seen a dozen or more of these engines and every one shows a crack between the 3rd and 4th cylinder. Fortunately, the engine has chrome liners so this “flex” in the block can be accommodated.
32 posted on 08/18/2008 10:38:58 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

You do know your Jaguars. Thanks!


33 posted on 08/18/2008 12:08:52 PM PDT by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: marktwain

That just shows how little socialists know about science. Genetics...if that was the case half of the USA, most of New Zealand, Canada and Australia, a good chunk of South Africa, would all have the same problems!

Idiots.


34 posted on 08/19/2008 3:38:26 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: driftless2

It was a bit hack and slash in the early days for certain, and there is a shortage of dentists in the UK (some parts of it anyway) and I agree we are a bunch of chocolate junkies, but I dont have any problems - I get very good dental treatment (not NHS).


35 posted on 08/19/2008 3:41:15 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: Senator John Blutarski

“I propose a hearty round of applause for Hollywood and the US media for their excellent efforts in presenting the best face of our nation to the world.”

Well, yes they really are to blame! Its everyones media of course. Even if they aren’t politically biased, they are all of them biased to sensation, so you are left with these very odd impressions. People really believe that guns are going off in the US all the time, and that aids and so on are rampant. Even my dad, who is not unintelligent, was really very disappointed when he first visited the States that he never heard any car tires screaching, like happens in every cop show all the time! Actually of course, we soon learnt that Americans are generally very careful drivers.


36 posted on 08/19/2008 3:50:23 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: Vanders9
"odd impressions"

The profusion of articles concerning Muslims taking over Britain led me to believe that I might be seeing Imams screeching from minarets when I visited London a few years ago. Well I not only didn't see any minarets, in four days I saw pitifully few foreign-dressed people cavorting around the town. The whole experience in London was very pleasant. Especially the tour bus ride on the Big Bus (or the Big Black Bus...something like that). The tour guide was a born comedian.

37 posted on 08/19/2008 4:44:47 AM PDT by driftless2
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To: WayneS

Just don’t tell anybody. Especially your wives.


38 posted on 08/19/2008 5:18:10 AM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: Vanders9

It's a stereotype, mostly meant in jest. Nothing personal ole chum.

39 posted on 08/19/2008 6:28:42 AM PDT by DogBarkTree (The correct word isn't "immigrant" when what they are doing is "invading".)
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To: DogBarkTree

Teeth are naturally an off-white ivory type color. Perfectly white teeth are examples of Human cosmetic intervention. Besides, McKellan is a heavy smoker.


40 posted on 08/19/2008 8:27:27 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
And we have a clear win in the area of automotive electronics. Ever compared the inside of a Lucas alternator to a Delco ?

Before or after it catches fire?

41 posted on 08/19/2008 8:34:57 AM PDT by B Knotts (Calvin Coolidge Republican)
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To: Vanders9

I noticed that when Louise Brown was on trial in Massachusetts for killing a child entrusted to her care, there was legal defense fund set up in England. Louise and her parents were lodging gratis in her American lawyer’s home, but lodging expenses showed up in the accounts.

Mysteriously, as the trial progressed, Louise’ parents teeth got noticably straighter and cleaner. I’m not saying...


42 posted on 08/19/2008 8:46:16 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (His Negritude has made his negritude the central theme of this campaign)
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To: B Knotts

There are not enough windings in a Lucas alternator to catch fire. I remember one small fire that broke out under the dash of one of the E types I owned. It began dripping hot flaming insulation down on my wife’s feet. Fortunately, I had a nearly full can of PBR handy and sprayed it on to put out the flames.


43 posted on 08/19/2008 8:49:48 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Finally, a good use for PBR! Better than drinking the stuff, anyhow. :-)


44 posted on 08/19/2008 8:51:52 AM PDT by B Knotts (Calvin Coolidge Republican)
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To: B Knotts

The store was out of Hamm’s.


45 posted on 08/19/2008 8:55:25 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: Vanders9
Where DO you get this dental care thing about Britain from though?

Mike Myers' Austin Powers movies are probably when it reached critical mass.

Note: Myers is Canadian.

46 posted on 08/19/2008 9:01:21 AM PDT by Tribune7 (How is inflicting pain and death on an innocent, helpless human being for profit, moral?)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
The UK didn’t go off rationing until 1951 or so.

One of the reasons the Dems lost Congress in 1946 was because they didn't want to give up rationing.

47 posted on 08/19/2008 9:06:51 AM PDT by Tribune7 (How is inflicting pain and death on an innocent, helpless human being for profit, moral?)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Image over substance...she’s innocent, not because of boring things like facts, but because she does have a very nice smile...


48 posted on 08/19/2008 9:16:22 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: Tribune7

In other words, if its repeated long enough and loud enough, it becomes true.


49 posted on 08/19/2008 9:20:28 AM PDT by Vanders9
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To: Vanders9

She did not have an award winning smile. She was kind of dumpy and probably drank a lot more than she studied or worked out.

The judge, who obviously sided with the defense, would not let the jury consider the lesser included charge of manslaughter, it was either second degree murder or nothing. The jury went for murder in about 30 minutes. The judge sentenced her to time served.

Mum and Dad wanted to continue to fight to prove her innocence. And maybe enjoy New England hospitality on Old England suckers’ nickel. Anyway, her lawyer who was pretty much fed up with working class English folks by this time (I think he was working pretty much pro bono, charging little more than expenses for a year.) just wanted to see the back of them. Good riddance.


50 posted on 08/19/2008 9:25:15 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (His Negritude has made his negritude the central theme of this campaign)
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