Posted on 11/13/2003 7:53:25 AM PST by Pikamax
ROFL
Sir, there are many, many great things to be said for and about Scotland, but the above is not one of them.
Thank you for replying in a more calm manner.
To answer you 'new labour',a politically correct left-wing party rules Scotland,whereas the UK government is more centrist. However,the majority of the populace is more 'old labour',which is leftist but ironically with a deep belief in socially conservative societal beliefs(family,patriotism,the old Scottish belief in good education).
Unfortunately, the former can destroy the latter. It only takes time. Many Democrats in the United States held deep socially conservative beliefs but the politically correct left-wing Democrats have done everything they can to destroy those socially conservative ideals. If Scotland can reconcile the two without the former destroying the latter, then good for Scotland. The United States couldn't do it. But remember that someone is voting for those New Labour politicians.
Secondly,my point was do not preach on another country if your knowledge is suspect or you have not been here.I have been to America several times and therefore can make at least a rough judgment on it.
You don't always have to have been somewhere to know something about it. I knew quite a bit about Japan before I went to live there. I know more now, but nothing that contradicted my basic beliefs about the types of matters we are discussing her. It is also true that the conditions in any particular place change over time. The US of the 2000s is not the same as the US of the 1990s, 1980s, or 1970s. In all fairness, it does appear, that some of my understanding of the Scottish economy is quite dated based on your replies below. Fair enough.
Thirdly,all Scots are proud of the NHS,even the right-wing tories use it as a major totem of their policies.No one not even the extremist BNP will get rid of it........
And when Americans hear about some of the details of the NHS, they make us cringe. Perhaps we hear only the bad things but I suspect that you also hear only the bad things about US health care. I do know that my encounters with more socialized medicine in Japan did not impress me.
As for education,your point is facile.America is successful in SPITE of an appalling education system.
Not at all. The American education system provides a great deal of opportunity to learn, if the students want to learn and if the parents take an interest in their children's education. You will notice that Asian immigrants, who in some cases barely speak English, have no problem graduating from American public schools with an excellent education, producing perfect scores on standardized tests, or going on to get engineering and other hard science degrees. I was doing college-level chemistry and mathematics in my high school. While teachers and school administrators don't always help and they certainly focus on things that I don't approve of, the single biggest barriers to a good academic education in the United States are the students who have no interest in learning (including several large minority populations that thing a good education and understanding of the English language is a betrayal of their culture) and their parents (who allow them to adopt those values or are even the root cause of them). The educational opportunity is there. Immigrants who look for it have no problem finding it -- even in bad city neighborhoods.
How great America would be if you had the best education system.
The main problem isn't the education system (though it certainly allows itself to be distracted by social engineering). The main problem is students and parents who do not value an education. Those that do have no problem getting educated, even in some of the worst public schools. I'm not saying that there are no problems with the education system. But I am saying that children manage to get a great deal from it when they apply themselves.
Is it coincidence that Scotland outperforms America in every level of education,and that we contribute a disproportionate amount to the UK treasury and have the UK's strongest economy per head(check the British papers,as Scotland's economy is again booming). That we produce a disproportionate amount of Europe's superconductors for example. Sorry,but a more intelligent populace equals a better economy. Common-sense.
You are mixing apples and oranges so, no, it isn't common sense. A formal education and performance on tests does not equal intelligence. And neither of those necessarily correspond to productivity, which is what has a direct impact on the economy. If everything you were saying were really true (about the comparison between education systems, about the correlation between education and the economy) Scotland would be out performing the United States and people would be flocking to Scotland for their university education. That just isn't happening. And remember that Scotland has the advantage of a much more homogeneous population than the United States does.
Note that I've lived in Japan, a country with a model education system that it is very proud of and which does amazingly well on standardized tests. I've worked in a company that had a majority of Japanese employees and these people were some of the best and brightest that the parent company had to offer the joint-venture, or so I'm told. While they were certainly intelligent, their productivity, problem-solving skills, creativity, and basic common-sense knowledge was lacking. I doubt many of them could have survived for long in an American company. I've also worked with people from the UK and Europe (including Scotland) on computer projects. While they are often quite bright and friendly, I can't say that I found them to be better trained or more compitent than Americans I've worked with in a similar capacity. I also have several friends who have been sent to the UK on consulting projects who were not terribly impressed by the skills that they saw around them.
These are Scottish beliefs irrespective of politics,if you ever came here,you would see this.
Having a respect for education can be important. If Scotland has that, then that's great. But that's only one facet of success, not the end of the story. The most educated Americans (in terms of years of schooling) are often among the least productive members of our society. Education is great but you also have to (A) get an education in something useful and (B) you need to do something with the knowledge. Otherwise, that educated person is no more valuable to an economy than a closed book is.
Lastly,I never have said that I think Scotland is wonderful,with no problems.God,we do......believe me..........
The last time I'd looked at the Scottish economy (too long ago, it seems), it seemed to be a net drag on the UK (this was before the semi-conductor boom). If Scotland has turned that around or never had the problems I thought it did, then great. Perhaps my concerns, irreverently stated earlier in this thread, were misplaced and I'm happy to be wrong.
What part do you not understand?
The man writes of watching little girls as their frilly panties run and other such things that I mentioned.
Somebody please remind me again of how this matters ?
And sorry but your ARE taking the mickey?.
Um okay. All your base are belong to us, I guess.
Then you seriously wonder why Americans have that arrogant reputation...
No, I don't seriously wonder that. I personally don't care what you Euros think of us.
How sad the greatest immigrant nation seems so unwilling to ever look beyond its shores and take an interest in other countries and cultures
Actually, you couldn't be more wrong Scotty. If you ask me there is too much diversity in America these days. Hey, this is the great melting pot, not the great ice cube tray, with little compartments for each separate group.
mateyblokegeezer........ LOL okay whatever dude.
PS one of my favorite songs is Scotland the Brave (no kidding)
Uh, he was writing about what he observed a homeless man doing on the streets of London. The lyrics aren't autobiographical. Get a clue, man--you probably believe that Thomas Harris is a serial-killing cannibal because wrote about Hannibal Lecter
Of course, that is one interpretation of the lyrics. It is also both the most obvious interpretation, one anyone can make. However, on further examination, I would ask: How can one, by mere observation, ascertain the intent?
One sees that which he wishes to see. I see a homeless person looking at a little girl and see him, perhaps, longing for that which he may have lost or never had. That being, the innocence of youth and a young girl with which to share them, in a purely innocent way. Such as a man would look at a little girl that reminds him of the daughter he lost years ago.
Ian Anderson though assumes that the man is eyeing the girls with "bad intent" he also observes their "frilly panties run." These comments are not just observations, but they are imparting his assumptions onto that which he may know nothing about.
If he is just an observer, why does he impart these peculiar observations onto the poor homeless beggar? From my perspective, he sees the worse side of people and makes that observation, just as he did when he made assumptions about the intentions of those who fly the flag.
He may be right in some cases, but to voice his disgust openly against all who fly the flag is ignorance at best. He has assumed the worst in all of us, and that is a wrong assumption.
I would suggest, sir, that you get a clue and open your eyes a bit to other perspectives.
Ian, just wait until we invade Syria.
He uses the words "we" and "the world" interchangably. Does Ian's view represent "the world" view?
Ian Anderson though assumes that the man is eyeing the girls with "bad intent" he also observes their "frilly panties run." These comments are not just observations, but they are imparting his assumptions onto that which he may know nothing about.
Oh, come on. I've seen plenty of homeless people leering at young girls, and it certainly wasn't hard to see what their intentions were.
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