"Arny Krueger" wrote

Now much we can do for people who desperately want to speak first German,
then Russian. Heck, we've even disabused the Russians of that myth! ;-)
Ah yes, yet another part of the "American Myth", that the US, somehow or
other, brought about the end of the Soviet Union. Total bull**** of course,
the Soviet Union was disbanded from within, aided by the people of Eastern
Europe. Now't to do with the US.

David.,

On 13/03/2010 14:50, Arny Krueger wrote:
wrote in message
om
On 12/03/2010 12:52, Arny Krueger wrote:
"Ian wrote in message

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article
,
Don wrote:
It is all a result of their extreme parochialism. I
can't remember the numbers, but I do remember being
deeply shocked at how many of them have never owned a
passport, for example. It has become a culture in
which ignorance is lauded.

Especially how often the Hollywood myth of the US
winning WW2 for 'us' is trotted out.
Oh - and the vast amount of money they extracted from
the UK for their help is also conveniently forgotten.


IIRC we only finished paying off that debt in the 1990s.

Probably with zero interest and with highly devalued
currency. ;-)

Reportedly 2% - way above the rate then/since.

In what alternative universe?

http://www.moneycafe.com/library/primeratehistory.htm


No, it doesn't work that way. Nation states don't borrow at 'prime'
rates. The figure I read recently was in the order of 0.6% average over
the past 100 years or so, and about 0.7% right now. But point-accurate
data is notoriously difficult to obtain, and conditions vary - usually
the lower the state involvement, the seemingly better the terms.

The loan
was complicated by a number of factors - not least the
complete lack of appreciation of context. Still. Just
look at what the US has done for us all since ;-)

Now much we can do for people who desperately want to speak first German,
then Russian. Heck, we've even disabused the Russians of that myth! ;-)


Yep, quite a track record of disabusing people of things.

Rich coming from a Brit, of course, but in fairness the 'States took
over where we and a few others left off.

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"David" wrote in message

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message

Service - the act of serving or assisting someone. This
includes both repairing and maintaining. It also
includes many other things such as serving food.

Repair - the service of correcting a fault, such as
those due to wear and tear, or accident.

Maintenance - routine service that puts off or
circumvents common faults by making premptive changes to
areas subject to predictable degradation, such as
cleaning and applying fresh lubrication to a bearing. IOW, both repair
and maintenance are services, but many
other things are services as well. In general the same
service organizations and service people provide both
repair and maintenance. The office copier service man
repairs faults and also performs scheduled maintenance.

You've nearly got it!

Actually, I've got it just right.

You fail to grasp that service is actually a very generalized word. It
includes both maintenance and repair, and it includes many other things.

Of course from what I've heard about the UK attitude towards service,
whether in the electronics shop or the coffee shop, I think I understand a
lot of the confusion that you guys are experiencing. No concept of
service. No service attitude.

In the US we consider the "Service Industry" to be a major business
segment. We've profited well by educating the rest of the world about the
meaning of the word service. Pity that it did not take better in the UK.

Snip

Is that so ?

I suggest that you have a look at the ITIL work done by the UK to educate
the rest of the world on how to run a proper 'Service'.

Mike

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"Don Pearce" wrote in message

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:28:50 -0000, "David Looser"
wrote:

"Don Pearce" wrote


And thus you have failed to grasp everything you have
been told.


I can't make up my mind whether Arny is being
deliberately obtuse as a wind-up, or genuinely fails to
understand the thread. But he's made himself look
ridiculous whichever is true. I also never realised just
what a typical American he is with his blind belief in
the American myth.

David.

It is all a result of their extreme parochialism.

One difference between the UK and the US is that we were able to assemble
the common continent-wide political, industrial, agricultural, and
residential organization that Europe can still only dream of close to 200
years ago. Well 200 years would be controversial, but surely 100 years
ago. We did it without modern transportation or communication. It was an
act of vision, will, self-sacrifice, and intelligence. Many of our states
are larger, wealthier, and more populous than even many of your larger,
wealthier countries. The only truely impressive European country is
Germany.

There are what 4 times more states in the US than there are countries in
Europe? The moral equivalent of the news and government of the UK in the
US might be called California or Texas. We have all that and 48 more! (50
more if you realize that Mexico and Canada are effectively quasi-states of
the US.)

I can't
remember the numbers, but I do remember being deeply
shocked at how many of them have never owned a passport,
for example.

That's because we can go to at least 52 what you Europeans somwhat
amusingly call countries and travel 1,000s of miles without a passport and
have been able to do that for at least 100 years.

It has become a culture in which ignorance is lauded.

Prove it. We have more effective institutions of learning almost by
accident then the UK has on purpose.

but the USA still have a worse educational system (and lower literary) rate
that Russia under the communist

On Mar 13, 4:03*am, "David Looser"
wrote:
"Arny Krueger" wrote

One difference between the UK and the US is that we were able to assemble
the common continent-wide political, industrial, agricultural, and
residential organization that Europe can still only dream of close to 200
years ago. Well 200 years would be controversial, but surely 100 years
ago. We did it without *modern transportation or communication.

The USA was made up of ex-European colonies most without significant
histories of their own. Some weren't even that, just tracts of land
inhabited merely by a handful of settlers and the native Americans who's
opinions were neither sought nor considered. Pulling that lot together as a
nation is a piece of cake compared to welding together many disparate
nations each with it's own 1000+ year history and culture and which had a
history of being rivals with each other.

It was an act of vision, will, self-sacrifice, *and intelligence.

No, it was an act of necessity. The only way the American states were going
to be able to survive was by pooling their resources.

Many of our states are larger, wealthier, and more populous than even many
of your larger, wealthier countries.

So?

The only truely impressive European country is Germany.

And how many have you heard of?, not many judging by that daft comment.

There are what 4 times more states in the US than there are countries in
Europe?

Er.. No. Showing your ignorance again?

*The moral equivalent of the news and government of the UK in the US might
be called California or Texas.

Does that sentence have a meaning?

We have all that and 48 more! (50 more

if you realize that Mexico and Canada are effectively quasi-states of the
US.)

Go to Canada or Mexico and say that, and see how long you last before you
get lynched. *Are you not aware just how little the US is respected in
either country?

It has become a culture in which ignorance is lauded.

Prove it. We have more effective institutions of learning almost by
accident then the UK has on purpose.

The proof is that it is a land with an "education centre" that teaches that
the planet is only 6000 odd years old, and that humans and dinosuars
co-existed within that period. *There's all the proof you need that it is a
land in which ignorance is lauded.


The yanks have a documentary series called 'The Flintstones" that (to
them) proves that human and dinosaur co-existed, and that man even
tamed and utilised them for various tasks.



David.

On 09/03/2010 15:51, Arny Krueger wrote:
wrote in message
m...
On 09/03/2010 12:27, Arny Krueger wrote:
"Ian wrote in message
...


Not for much longer, you'll be happy to know. It's an attitude arising
from low relative prices for consumer goods.

The costs that technology roll back generally never return.

Soon, Americans won't be the only people to find themselves darning
their
socks.

You're dreaming.

God knows what'll happen when all these mobile phones start breaking
down
and no-one can afford new ones.

They are getting even cheaper for a given level of functionality.

It could be suggested that they're getting more expensive - natural
resources, social costs, environmental damage. But I see where you're
coming from - cheap for you.

Or, you could step back and look at the *big* picture. By selling the
American people on the idea of obsessing over their cell phones instead of
their SUVs, people who used to buy a new SUV every year, now buy a new cell
phone every 6 months. Then there are the people who used to buy a new house
every 2 years!

Think I'm making this up? Look what is happening to home and SUV sales
versus cell phone sales in the US!

I'll leave it to you to figure out the difference in terms of the resources
you listed... ;-)

The scary thing is that I know people whose minds work like that...


Of course - and I should know ;-)

"David Looser" wrote in
message

Ah yes, yet another part of the "American Myth", that the
US, somehow or other, brought about the end of the Soviet
Union.

We helped, but they did it to themselves as much as anyone.

Total bull**** of course,

It is your BS story, not mine!

the Soviet Union was
disbanded from within, aided by the people of Eastern
Europe.

In the end that was how it came together.

Now't to do with the US.

We, like Europe and the UK and the rest of the world kept up the pressure on
them.

"fredbloggstwo"
wrote in message

but the USA still have a worse educational system (and
lower literary) rate that Russia under the communist

There are exceedingly few in the US who are illiterate due to the lack of
availabilty of a good education. You lump every school in the US into one,
when they are as diverse as the people groups that they serve.

We have an example of that right before my nose. Compare and contrast the
schools in Detroit and Grosse Pointe. Why are these schools so different?

They are different because they reflect the cultures of the people they
serve. One of the keys to the education of children is their parents.

"David" wrote in message
...
"Iain Churches" wrote in message
news
Hmm. Interesting. I have just asked my Swedish colleague if he
can diffeerentiate between "service" and "repair" in English. He
looked at me as if I were mad, and said "Surely the two are
totally different things? You repair something that is broken,
but service something as a part of routine scheduled maintenance"
He gave "car service" and "crash repair" as good examples to
illustrate that he reconginsed the difference.
This is absolutely correct IMO

Well at least they teach English in Sweden then.

Most Swedes take a pride in
speaking a foreign language correctly.

Personally, I hate those sloppy Americanisms
such as "You did good" . Are they not able
differentiate between adjectives and adverbs?
Sadly, given enough exposure, these
expressions will spread into common usage amongst
people who really should know better.

My French friend, a translator, has impeccable English but I once heard
her use the word 'gotten'! I was disgusted and put her straight.

That's what I mean by spreading into common usage:-)

The French themselves have made great efforts to preserve
the integrity of their own language. Hats off to them
for that:-)

Iain

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...

Let me know when you all do very basic things that we initated and largely
perfected over 300 years ago like all speaking the same language...

Ahem. You seem to be forgetting the 35 million Hispanics who
have a command of English even worse than you "English speaking"
Americans.

Iain