Posted on 09/01/2005 3:51:58 PM PDT by TxChick
You won't believe this: In an article in Frankfurter Rundschau, a leading left-wing daily, Germany's environmental minister Jürgen Trittin holds U.S. president George Bush responsible for hurricane Katrina.
Yes, that's right. The hurricane Katrina that killed dozens of people, that destroyed countless homes, flooded parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, that left millions without electricity - it's all Bush's fault, according to a leading member of the German Green party, who happens to be Environmental Minister in Chancellor Schroeder's cabinet. Never mind that statistics don't show a particularly increase in the frequency of hurricanes in the U.S. in the last decades. Germany's general elections are scheduled for September 18, and the German left is in dire need of a neocon scapegoat for every disaster that befalls the world. And George W. Bush is the default villain in German politics and in the German media...
Excerpts of Trittin's article:
By neglecting environmental protection, America’s president shuts his eyes to the economic and human damage that natural catastrophes like Katrina inflict on his country and the world’s economy. ...many Americans have long been unwilling to follow the president’s errant environmental policy. Indications are multiplying that Bush has more than Katrina’s headwind blowing in his face... . When reason finally pays a visit to climate-polluter headquarters, the international community has to be prepared to hand America a worked out proposal for the future of international climate protection. The German Government stands ready. (Translation of quote by Richard Bartholomew)
(Here are more reactions in the German media to Katrina)
Consider this a job application on the part of Mr. Trittin. He will be kicked out of office as a result of the German election on September 18 and desperately looks for a new employer.
I just wonder if the U.S. government wouldn't want to muster the services of this very capable political talent in order to shape up America's environmental policies. Admittedly, the U.S. would lose several million jobs as a result of Trittin's suicidal environmental policies, without any noticeable effects on air quality or hurricane frequency.
But France, Russia, China and Japan - all of which do not seriously consider adopting Trittin's costly environmental demands - will be jubilant. And that's something the U.S. would certainly be proud of...
Envy apparently has dictated to the average German by the MSM to blame America for everything bad in the world. Yes, we do live very well and enjoy many luxuries due to reaping the fruits of our hard labor. This has been happening for years. What should we do abandon our production and voluntarily become a third world country, would that please the socialists? There are many misconception by the Germans concerning the Environmental laws, or lack of them in the USA. Did you know that the Environment is the second highest expenditure for business after Wages? Did you know that it was the USA who started environmental protection? For instance,we outlawed leaded Gas and instituted catalytic cnverters 20 years before Germany even "allowed" them. Of course the MSM likes to make it's readers think that we do nothing at all. Here are a few more Myths about the USA:
Debunking popular myths about the U.S.
Listed below are 15 commonly-held myths about social, economic, health and environmental conditions in the United States, followed by facts that debunk the myths. The facts have been gleaned from the Pocket World in Figures 2005, published by the The Economist magazine.
Myth # 1: The U.S. ranks low in human development. Fact: On the Human Development Index, which measures literacy, life expectancy and income levels, the U.S. ranks above Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and 38 other countries.
Myth #2: The U.S. is uncompetitive in global markets. Fact: The U.S. is the world's biggest exporter, twice as big as Japan and three times as big as China. It also ranks first in manufacturing output, with 80 percent more output than Japan and more than twice as much output as either China or Germany. And it is surpassed in per-capita Gross Domestic Product by only Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland, all of which are tiny, lily-white countries. The social-welfare countries of Germany, France and Italy have a per-capita GDP that is only 66 percent, 67 percent and 57 percent, respectively, of the per-capita GDP of the U.S.
Myth #3: Because the U.S. doesn't produce enough scientists and engineers, it has lost its edge in innovation. Fact: It ranks first on the Innovation Index, which is a measure of human resources skills, market incentive structures and the interaction between the business and scientific sectors. It also ranks first in the number of Nobel Prize winners in economics, medicine, physics and chemistry. The first-place rankings are in spite of the U.S. ranking fifth in R&D spending as a percentage of GDP and dropping to 10th place on the Index of Economic Freedom.
Myth #4: American roads are congested due to a lack of mass transit. Fact: The U.S. ranks 42nd in the number of vehicles per kilometer of road. Germany, a country with a lot of mass transit, ranks third.
Myth #5: The U.S. is the most car-crazy country. Fact: It ranks 12th in the number of cars per 1,000 people, surpassed by such countries as New Zealand, Luxembourg, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Australia.
Myth #6: The U.S. has a high rate of auto accidents. Fact: It ranks 31st in the number of people injured per miles traveled. Italy, Canada, Belgium, Israel and Germany have more injuries.
Myth #7: The U.S. ranks low in educational achievement. Fact: Only one nation, South Korea, ranks higher than the U.S. in the percentage of the population enrolled in post-secondary education, in spite of the U.S. having a large number of immigrants from third-world countries.
Myth #8: The U.S. leads in breast cancer, lung cancer and diabetes. Fact: It does not make the top-20 list in deaths per 100,000 people for breast cancer. The top five countries for breast cancer are Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, United Kingdom and Hungary. The U.S. ranks eighth in lung cancer, surpassed by the Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium and Hungary. And it ranks 14th in diabetes, surpassed by such countries as Canada, Spain, Italy, Greece and Singapore.
Myth #9: Americans don't read books. Fact: The U.S. is tied with Singapore in fourth place for book sales per capita. Japan, Norway and Germany rank first, second and third, respectively. France is in 17th place.
Myth #10: American teenagers watch the most TV and drink the most alcohol. Fact: The U.S. ranks tenth in the percentage of 15-year-old males who watch TV four or more hours a day on weekdays. Ukraine is in first place. The U.S. does not make the top-14 list in 15-year-olds who drink alcohol weekly.
Myth #11: Americans are heavy smokers and drinkers. Fact: The U.S. does not make the top-20 list in per-capita smoking. Greece is in first place. In beer consumption, the U.S. is in 11th place; and in alcohol consumption, it doesn't make the top-23 list. The Czech Republic ranks first in beer consumption, and Luxembourg ranks first in the consumption of alcoholic drinks.
Myth #12: The U.S. leads in crime. Fact: The top ten countries for serious assaults per 100,000 people are in rank order: Australia, Sweden, South Africa, Belgium, Ghana, Swaziland, Fiji, Jamaica, Netherlands, United States. The top ten countries for theft are: Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, France, Austria, United States, Germany, Iceland.
Myth #13: The U.S. leads in defense spending. Fact: When measured as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, the United States does not make the top-39 list. North Korea is first, Israel is tenth, and Singapore is nineteenth. Most Arab countries are on the list, and many rank near the top. For example, Saudi Arabia is fifth, Kuwait is sixth, and Jordan is eleventh.
Myth #14: The U.S. leads in threatened species. Fact: It is in 21st place in mammal species under threat and in 10th place in bird species under threat. Indonesia, China, India and Brazil rank in the top five in both categories.
Myth #15: The U.S. leads in sprawl and deforestation. Fact: It ranks third in the amount of forested land and second in the amount of land under protected status. It doesn't make the top-48 list of nations with the highest rural population density. __________ Mr. Cantoni is an author and columnist. His new book, Breaking from the Herd: Political Essays for Independent Thinkers by a Maverick Columnist, retails for $18.95 but can be purchased directly from him for $10. You can contact him at either ccan2@aol.com or haalt1@aol.com.
Weegee blames Germans for Adolph Hitler and the Holocaust
any questions?
Certainly some accomplices are still over there.
isn't this the twit that wants all of Germany's nuclear plants shut down?
Life expectancy? See the table for the 100 countries with highest life expectancy:
1. Andorra 83.51 years
2. Macau 82.03 years
3. San Marino 81.62 years
4. Singapore 81.62 years
5. Hong Kong 81.39 years
6. Japan 81.15 years
7. Sweden 80.4 years
8. Switzerland 80.39 years
9. Australia 80.39 years
10. Guernsey 80.3 years
11. Iceland 80.19 years
12. Canada 80.1 years
13. Cayman Islands 79.95 years
14. Italy 79.68 years
15. Gibraltar 79.67 years
16. France 79.6 years
17. Monaco 79.57 years
18. Liechtenstein 79.55 years
19. Spain 79.52 years
20. Norway 79.4 years
21. Israel 79.32 years
22. Jersey 79.24 years
23. Faroe Islands 79.21 years
24. Aruba 79.14 years
25. Greece 79.09 years
26. Martinique 79.04 years
27. Austria 78.92 years
28. Virgin Islands 78.91 years
29. Malta 78.86 years
30. Netherlands 78.81 years
31. Luxembourg 78.74 years
32. Montserrat 78.71 years
33. New Zealand 78.66 years
34. Germany 78.65 years
35. Belgium 78.62 years
36. Saint Pierre and Miquelon 78.46 years
37. Guam 78.4 years
38. United Kingdom 78.38 years
39. Finland 78.35 years
40. Man, Isle of 78.34 years
41. 78.3 years
42. Jordan 78.24 years
43. Guadeloupe 77.9 years
44. Bermuda 77.79 years
45. Saint Helena 77.76 years
46. United States 77.71 years
47. Cyprus 77.65 years
48. Puerto Rico 77.62 years
49. Denmark 77.62 years
50. Ireland 77.56 years
51. Portugal 77.53 years
52. Taiwan 77.26 years
53. Albania 77.24 years
54. Cuba 77.23 years
55. Anguilla 77.11 years
56. French Guiana 77.09 years
57. Kuwait 77.03 years
58. Costa Rica 76.84 years
59. Chile 76.58 years
60. Libya 76.5 years
61. Jamaica 76.29 years
62. British Virgin Islands 76.27 years
63. Ecuador 76.21 years
64. Slovenia 76.14 years
65. Uruguay 76.13 years
66. Czech Republic 76.02 years
67. Argentina 75.91 years
68. French Polynesia 75.9 years
69. Northern Mariana Islands 75.88 years
70. Georgia 75.88 years
71. American Samoa 75.84 years
72. Netherlands Antilles 75.83 years
73. Korea, South 75.82 years
74. Saudi Arabia 75.46 years
75. United Arab Emirates 75.24 years
76. Mexico 75.19 years
77. Tunisia 74.89 years
78. Paraguay 74.89 years
79. Brunei 74.8 years
80. Serbia and Montenegro 74.73 years
81. Dominica 74.65 years
82. Turks and Caicos Islands 74.51 years
83. Slovakia 74.5 years
84. Croatia 74.45 years
85. Poland 74.41 years
86. Venezuela 74.31 years
87. Bahrain 74.23 years
88. New Caledonia 74.04 years
89. Lithuania 73.97 years
90. Reunion 73.95 years
91. Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of 73.73 years
92. Qatar 73.67 years
93. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 73.62 years
94. Saint Lucia 73.61 years
95. Sri Lanka 73.17 years
96. Oman 73.13 years
97. West Bank 73.08 years
98. Algeria 73 years
99. Bosnia and Herzegovina 72.85 years
100. Solomon Islands 72.66 years
[...]
Source: CIA World Factbook, March 2005
I wonder why this is. Could Australia and the European countries being on the list have anything to do with large numbers of unassimilated immigrants who beat their women when they're not prostrated in the direction of a certain middle-eastern city five times a day?
Sorry, not true. Go look at the CIA World Fact book
The EU and Germany in particular export more then we do, we are not twice as big as Japan, as a matter of fact, China is larger then Japan so we are not three times China. We are twice as big as the UK.
European Union $ 1,109,000,000,000 2003
Germany $ 893,300,000,000 2004 est.
United States $ 795,000,000,000 2004 est.
China $ 583,100,000,000 2004 est.
Japan $ 538,800,000,000 2004 est.
France $ 419,000,000,000
Actually, according to http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d03/tables/dt397.asp
In 1999, we had 35.9% of the population ages 18-21 in college.
South Korea 51.4%
Greece 54%
Belguim 41.7%
Actually we're 36th by the CIA World Fact Book
1 Jordan 14.60 2004
2 Eritrea 13.40 2004
3 Oman 11.40 2003
4 Angola 10.60 2004
5 Qatar 10.00 NA
6 Saudi Arabia 10.00 2002
7 Israel 8.70 FY02
8 Yemen 7.80 2003
9 Armenia 6.50 FY01
10 Bahrain 6.30 2004
11 Burundi 6.00 2004
12 Macedonia 6.00 NA
13 Syria 5.90 NA
14 Maldives 5.50 2004
15 Kuwait 5.30 2004
16 Turkey 5.30 2003
17 Brunei 5.10 2004
18 Morocco 5.00 2004
19 Pakistan 4.90 2004
20 Singapore 4.90 NA
21 Ethiopia 4.60 2004
22 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.50 NA
23 Djibouti 4.40 2004
24 China 4.30 2004
25 Greece 4.30 2003
26 Zimbabwe 4.30 2004
27 Botswana 3.90 2004
28 Libya 3.90 NA
29 Tajikistan 3.90 FY01
30 Chile 3.80 2004
31 Cyprus 3.80 NA
32 Colombia 3.40 FY01
33 Turkmenistan 3.40 NA
34 Egypt 3.40 2004
35 Iran 3.30 2003 est.
36 United States 3.30 February 2004
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