M
Millzy
Guest
not to mention America's need for fast food. b/c of the the "great american way" the world is getting fatter. you see McDonalds all over Europe and Asia.
But they do - leading to a whole new set of problems over immigration. Though most of it is blown out of proportion.
It is not America's fault that some human beings like eating to excess. If more people started acting responsibly we could solve a whole lot of problems in a hurry.
M
Millzy
Guest
i'm not saying that's it's america's fault for fat people. i'm saying it's america's fault for fast food...
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
Skyfire: I'm sure the US and Canada are also a part of the problem, but Europe is an equally large part of the problem. Furthermore, since I tend to criticise the US quite frequently for other reasons, it would be hypocritical of me as a European to ignore Europe's actions in this case.
Mekt-Hakkikt: Well, I'm sure it's a huge consolation to the starving millions that thanks to the Europeans' refusal to help them, a few farmers will remain in business
. But no, the idea is to help the African states get back on their feet, while simultaneously providing them with enough aid to keep them from starving until they get their food production up to the required levels (Africa too, is perfectly capable of feeding itself).
$tormin: It's easy to say that Africans are entirely to blame for their troubles, but that's worse than distortion - it's a lie. Most of those wars you talk about were brought about, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly, by the wealthier countries of the world (needless to say, the Cold War was the most important factor). Further, even in cases where the West or Russia didn't cause the problems, they supplied the combatants with arms - so, for us to now say that the Africans need to stop fighting is hypocrisy. Yes, corruption is a huge problem in Africa, but this too is a result of colonial policies - education was always neglected in colonies, since uneducated people are easier to control than educated ones. And without education, you can't really talk about good government.
Mekt-Hakkikt: Well, I'm sure it's a huge consolation to the starving millions that thanks to the Europeans' refusal to help them, a few farmers will remain in business
. But no, the idea is to help the African states get back on their feet, while simultaneously providing them with enough aid to keep them from starving until they get their food production up to the required levels (Africa too, is perfectly capable of feeding itself).$tormin: It's easy to say that Africans are entirely to blame for their troubles, but that's worse than distortion - it's a lie. Most of those wars you talk about were brought about, sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly, by the wealthier countries of the world (needless to say, the Cold War was the most important factor). Further, even in cases where the West or Russia didn't cause the problems, they supplied the combatants with arms - so, for us to now say that the Africans need to stop fighting is hypocrisy. Yes, corruption is a huge problem in Africa, but this too is a result of colonial policies - education was always neglected in colonies, since uneducated people are easier to control than educated ones. And without education, you can't really talk about good government.
In throwing Europe in there, that is very true-I'm just pointing out the basis for where excess food comes from.
As for people eating too much-hell, that isn't McDonald's or the U.S.A.'s fault any more than the people who go spend their money on the food themselves.
As for us creating fast food-same point, just because America transports its ideas to other places, doesn't mean they will catch on without local enthusiasm.
As for people eating too much-hell, that isn't McDonald's or the U.S.A.'s fault any more than the people who go spend their money on the food themselves.
As for us creating fast food-same point, just because America transports its ideas to other places, doesn't mean they will catch on without local enthusiasm.
Wedge009
Rogue Leader
Indeed, people would abort just because their child has genetic defects.
Not even donate?
Blame Britain for 'giving birth' to them too, then.
As for fat people, it's somewhat a matter of genetics, but I think it's also largely a case of culture. Australians tend to be quite overweight - not surprising, given the lifestyle and diet. And I can happily say I'm not fat... although uni life may be reversing that...
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
You can't give away food -- that amount of food costs a lot of money to transport and store.
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
That's a myth - given the amount of overspending by most Western countries in the military sector (including military aid, which apparently is much more worthwhile than development aid... huh?), the costs of transporting and storing even a very large amount of food could easily be absorbed by our governments. If you add the amount of trouble and money saved by reducing the number of refugees to be absorbed by our societies, you reach the conclusion that not only could we afford food and development aid, but we'd be doing *ourselves* a favour.
(And yes, Wedge, usually the food isn't even donated, though lately there is a trend towards increasing food donation)
(And yes, Wedge, usually the food isn't even donated, though lately there is a trend towards increasing food donation)
Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
Ah, yes, what a myth -- the grand old tale of how it COSTS MONEY TO SHIP THINGS PLACES. "Governments spend money on stuff" does not in any way, shape of form mean that it wouldn't cost money to ship mass amounts of food to other countries.
Naféasonto
Swabbie
Banned
A world without money. An interesting concept.
Imagine the world without money? The society would take years upon years to get used to it. People wouldn't be able to adjust, they would go crazy. What do you think?
Nafé
Imagine the world without money? The society would take years upon years to get used to it. People wouldn't be able to adjust, they would go crazy. What do you think?
Nafé
Did I say that they started the problem? No. But right now they are continuing it in a manner that prevents the current efforts (which are actually quite reasonable) to improve the situation of the people. They didn't have to keep the bonfire burning by throwing bodies on it.
The wars were brought about by opertunistic people who hardly really needed backing by anyone else to start killing. They were killing eachother long before anyone arrived, now they can just do it more effeciently
Im guessing you are the kind of person who blames the bar when idiots drive home drunk and kill themselves, or the car dealers when speeders run over children.
Considering how much the educated and prosperous are persecuted, do you wonder where all those africans who get schooling now at european and american schools, collages and universities dont go back home to teach others. I don't have the figures here but there is a large number of africans who are sent to get educated (many with western aid money) who will not return to improve things were they came from because some goons will kill them for disagreeing with the "liberator" of the week who is going through the villages chopping off childrens arms.
I agree that colonial policies were bad, but it wasn't smart of them to go straight from that to the mess today.
Fast food: I'm fairly certain the Romans had fast food outlets in their cities so the Americans are off the hook. AFAIK all McDonalds did was make a recognizable brand name out of it first.
Obesity: You make yourself obese because you choose to eat the copious quantities that make you fat. Its not society, government or the food producers' fault. Even people with genetic predispositions could do more to help themselves. Dieting fails, not because it is flawed, but because people don't stick to it long term. And it is your choice whether or not you exercise.
Naféasonto: During various depressions money became worthless. People resorted to barter, black market, etc. Though these were unquestionably times of hardship, people did not go mad. Human beings are sometimes more resilient than they are given credit for being.
Africa: European colonists may very well have screwed Africa big time, but seeing as the European nations have pulled out, its now primarily Africa's prerogative to fix their problems. Blaming colonisation, Cold War pressures or whatever, without doing anything constructive is simply a cop out.
Obesity: You make yourself obese because you choose to eat the copious quantities that make you fat. Its not society, government or the food producers' fault. Even people with genetic predispositions could do more to help themselves. Dieting fails, not because it is flawed, but because people don't stick to it long term. And it is your choice whether or not you exercise.
Naféasonto: During various depressions money became worthless. People resorted to barter, black market, etc. Though these were unquestionably times of hardship, people did not go mad. Human beings are sometimes more resilient than they are given credit for being.
Africa: European colonists may very well have screwed Africa big time, but seeing as the European nations have pulled out, its now primarily Africa's prerogative to fix their problems. Blaming colonisation, Cold War pressures or whatever, without doing anything constructive is simply a cop out.
Actually the world is still messing with Africa. the DRC(Democratic Republic of Congo) is a country that exists on maps only. In the actual country, warlords have the true power. And why is power so important to these warlords? So they can control the Coltan mines. Coltan is a material vital to making cell phones and the DRC is the second largest source of it outside of Austrailia. Cell phone manufactureers make contracts with warlords thus many times putting violent dictators in control of a region which has seen very little other than non-stop wars for years.
Quarto
Unknown Enemy
You know very well this is a totally different situation. But yes, if the bar had spiked all the drinks with drugs, I'd blame it for the string of accidents that followed.
But that's the point - colonial policies kept them from learning about how democracy is supposed to work, guaranteeding chaos. You agree that they didn't start the troubles, but you blame them for continuing them. Well, this is true to a degree, but any society embroiled in chaos is more likely to continue descending into chaos than pull out of it unless large-scale external intervention occurs. Note how it took American intervention to bring about peace in Europe after centuries of chaos.