flashman

He's obviously in the pay of the Bumper Sticker Industry. They have made a fortune first with products based on the WMD Threat, then the El Qaeda Connection, then Freedom and Democracy and now it's about a Gift to Our Kids.

Why Fox News of course!

"anti-Americanism" has to be put in context. America's supreme expertise is promotion which includes hype, mis-representation and sheer fantasy. Anyone who tries to inject any reality is immediately labelled as Anti-American when all that they are displaying is healthy scepticism rather than blind Groupthink.

I don't wear Nikes and if I did I would see that they're made in China where a lot of the parts for the GM bus are made. China is also the financial backer of the US economy since they hold much of the debt. Add to this that China is also a nuclear power with the largest army in the world and with a rapidly growing economy. So the USA seems to be losing ground on the criteria that it is so proud of.

We have a culture of many cultures -- culinary, linguistic, musical, architectural, political, legal, etc. Just go to New England or Georgia and tell me those aren't unique cultures which are part of our varied landscape. I thought it was supposed to be a "Melting Pot" or is this just more spin?

The image that the US likes to present is based on hype, exaggeration and misrepresentation. Canadians get bombarded with this chest beating on a daily basis by the media so it's a natural reaction to reject it and point out the truths because of sheer overload if nothing else.

There's a big difference with respect to violence. The American restaurant franchise Chuck E Cheeese has discontinued its videogames in Canadian franchises because of complaints about the violent content. However there still there in the US restaurants.

It's not just about availability of guns. It's about the American culture of violence. The American Chuck e Cheese restaurant chain has discontinued video games in Canada because of the violent content. A parent said "The whole game was inappropriate for young kids. It seems horrid to me that there could be so much violence for the sake of a game," Houston of Chuck E. Cheese said the Canadian market has different tastes in what is appropriate for its children." Souce http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/co...ssif=News+Alert

Well that's a very positive perspective. I am a new Canadian who appreciates that this country is a "Work in Progress" and is to be admired because. - Some of our institutions and ideas are still developing and are world models. - We don't have a history or aspirations of empire or world domination. - Our diplomatic reputation is that of moderation and collaboration.

It may not be disappearing but it seems to be changing into an aristocracy where the people in power are rich, have no ethics or morals and ignore the law. An equivalent situation to that which provoked the American revolution.

I would suggest that there are two major differences. One is the competitive ideals of US society contrast to the more collaborative values of Canadians. It seems that everyone is US is considered a competitor and a potential threat. That's why it is necessary to be armed from both an individual and a national perpective. Secondly style and presentation are valued more in the USA than substance. Hype, spin, misrepresentation are more appreciated and have more effect than facts. That's why challenges to American information are considered anti-American and unpatriotic when they are simply attempts to present the facts.

And a bible too just to make it complete.

Please give examples of our "obsession" with guns/violence that is not found in Canada. Protecting oneself and ones family is a right in every country, guns allow you to protect yourself against violent attacks. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well you could watch "Bowling for Columbine" or http://www.thenewamerican.com/focus/gun_control/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/725614.stm http://www.guncite.com/gun_control_bellesiles_plby.html There isnt a Canadian equivalent to this or the following "Enough American civilians have died by firearms injuries in the last 40 years to equal at least 20 Vietnams. By midnight today in the US, about 85 Americans will die of gunshot wounds--and at least one of them will be a child under the age of 15. Yet except for occasional workplace mass killings, or school murders like Columbine, these deaths go ignored. " (Source http://thetyee.ca/Views/2004/01/07/Living_...a_Gun_Culture/)

There's also an obsession with violence.

Sorry. That's just more American influence just like the gun culture.