Enna wrote:

Ooooh Thanks for the heads-up on bmw and doch, z123! Now lemme go find that "have something to say thread"

Heh, I'm not part of any of that discussion....

HI THERE!

coming from the uk what do you think my thoughts are on europe?!

should i type what i really think?

I voted against that worthless constitution, not against Europe.

bmwracer wrote:

Heh, I'm not part of any of that discussion....

Lucky.... And I don't think z123_us will ever forget it.

dochira wrote:

Lucky.... And I don't think z123_us will ever forget it.

Never!

z123_us wrote:

Never!

I thought so... Gee, what will happen if I even step foot in Europe and you get word of it..."Look, is he checking for his keys??"

LMAO! I've never seen that "put paperbag over head" emote

it's the best!

dochira wrote:

I thought so... Gee, what will happen if I even step foot in Europe and you get word of it..."Look, is he checking for his keys??"

naaaah! more like "he's just interested in the shirt material worn by guys today, especially on the inside"

z123_us wrote:

naaaah! more like "he's just interested in the shirt material worn by guys today, especially on the inside"

I gotcha. "Wow this is really skin tight material. Oh wait, it is skin."

dochira wrote:

I gotcha. "Wow this is really skin tight material. Oh wait, it is skin."

continuing it in the "got something to say" ... better not mess up this topic eh!

Xavio - You clearly seem to have a problem with the UK which is probably largely a factor of the anti-UK sentiment which is often fostered there as it is by the right-wing press in Germany also.

If I can correct you on a couple of things - You say the UK gives nothing to the poorest EU nations. That is an absolute lie. The UK is the 2nd largest contributor to the European Union (one of the reasons the UK gets to be a bit more dominant in EU debate than most). Also the UK is one of the biggest takers per square of former communist EU member citizens via it's poverty immigration and asylum system.

Secondly, the UK is not an EU member who spies on behalf of the United States. That's a rather silly thing to claim. Contrary to popular belief, the US and the UK only really speak in unison on the terrorism issue. The UK has a socialist free marketeer for a Prime Minister, the US has the most right-wing Conservative the nation has seen since the Cold War. Clearly theres going to be big differences between the 2 nations as seen in the Enviromental polices, Trade polices, Steel Tarrif polices, Global Warming polices, African debt relief polices, etc.

Xavio wrote:

Interesting ^^ Well, I have a different point of view In my opinion, Turkey and Russia will never enter Europe because Europe need time to "digest" the new members. I mean there are too many "poor" members. I think things are going to change. In 50 years, I think that people will consider themselves as Europeans and not as from their own country. Of course there will be people who want to be independant like in most of the countries of Europe who consider that they belong to an area and not to a country. In the past people considered that they belonged to a small village, then to a bigger area, then to a country, then it will be Europe... Quote: I also have my problems with these multi-national projects they're trying to do in Europe. Or better said, the industry. Take Airbus, or take the nuts who're building the Eurofighter. Agreed, the 380 IS huge, but also butt-ugly and can't even land everywhere. And I won't even comment on the Eurofighter. I mean, things like that didn't work with the Tornado back in the days, yet they still don't learn. I don't know why you say that. I don't think that the A380 is ugly. It is a plane for future to reduce air trafic. Then it can land in any place where the Boeing 747 can land... Some of the biggest american airports are against this plane because they have to build new gates, new buildings for this plane. If they want or no, they'll have to adapt because China already bought many A380. (They bought 10 more todays). I don't know about Eurofighters, but let's see what's going to happen. If you don't try, you'll never succeed. Be ambitious... If all the countries work together, the results will be better than if each country work alone. We need all the skills and all the best engineers of each countries to make the most competitive technologies... Quote: Also I think the EU often lacks balls when it comes to dealing with the USA or anyone else outside of the EU. You barely see a real EU stance on issues, you see a British stance, a German stance... Iraq was the best example. There's no British stance... British stance is american stance. British help american to spy Europe... Concerning Iraq, I think that this kind of problems won't happen thanks to a European government. Germany, UK , France, Spain ... will have to respect the decision of the european government and there won't be English army in Irak, French army in Ivory coast... Everybody would act together, but for now it's a dream... @Jholic : I know what you mean . Here, when people hear the word "Hawai", they think at sun, waves, surf, holidays... It's a dream to go there, it's another world... But a lot of people don't know if Hawai is in Pacific ocean or in Atlantic ocean -_- It's not a good idea to try to read the EU constitution because most of the EU comes from the constitution of each countries. Few things are new. The most important part to read is the last part, when they talk about the European government and Europe...

some people think that hawaii is in the atlantic?

kenjilina wrote:

some people think that hawaii is in the atlantic?

and u thought u were the only one ... poor u .. must be disappointed !!

z123_us wrote:

and u thought u were the only one ... poor u .. must be disappointed !!

i've been to oahu. i know where it is. i know somebody who thought that tsunami was a place in thailand!

kenjilina wrote:

i've been to oahu. i know where it is. i know somebody who thought that tsunami was a place in thailand!

and i thought i had met enough stupid people in my life ..

and that also tsunami - thailand ....

a place where some sort of romance for girls???!!!.... I think
_________________

Geezer wrote:

Different people, groups, factions, and nations have been trying to unite Europe since the days of the Roman Empire. Occasionally they've tried to do it using Religion. More often, they've tried to do it using swords. Then rifles. Then onto machine guns and bombers, and... Recently, very recently in terms of history, they've tried using economics, self interest, conversation and debate. I think this could be a winner. As for how soon it will happen... how long before a Swede or a Spaniard thinks of him or herself as a "European" first... it's gonna take some time. Did you know that prior to the American Civil War (1861-65) very few Americans thought of themselves, or referred to themselves as "Americans". They were New Yorkers, or Georgians, or Virginians, or New Englanders. The country was called, These (plural) United States, until the late 19th century, when it became The (singluar) United States. And the countires in Europe have a darned sight more history and individual differences to overcome than did the American's of the 19th century. It's gonna take more than a decade or two, and a few signed documents to really unite Europe. But in the end, I think saying it will be well worth the struggle is a major understatement. I can't say I have any idea what a united Europe will look like in a century or so... but it has to be better off than it's been over the last few centuries with all the internal bickering, power grabs, and wars. Europe has too much to offer the world to go on blowing itself to pieces every generation or so.

@ Geezer: Thanks for this info. This is very interesting info. It is funny because most Americans when asked "What are You?' usually answer with their race or their parents or grandparents nationality, ethnic or religious heritage and very rarely say "I am American." And if asked while overseas "Where Are You From?" most Americans will name their state or their city of residence. Yet we are Americans. Yes human nature being what it is, it will take a very long time for Europeans to see themselves as a United Europe.

Enna wrote:

... And if asked while overseas "Where Are You From?" most Americans will name their state or their city of residence. Yet we are Americans.

For me, you can chalk it up to expediting the response. Should I answer, "From America," the inevitable reply is "Where in America?". I don't blame them since the US is large, so I simply give them a narrow answer.

Enna wrote:

... And if asked while overseas "Where Are You From?" most Americans will name their state or their city of residence. Yet we are Americans. dochira wrote: For me, you can chalk it up to expediting the response. Should I answer, "From America," the inevitable reply is "Where in America?". I don't blame them since the US is large, so I simply give them a narrow answer.

Ooh don't misunderstand me dochira I fully understand the reason we answer the way we do. I have done the same thing myself. I was just agreeing with Geezer about how difficult it will be for Europeans from so many diverse nations to identify with ONE United European identity if we ourselves rarely identify with ONE American identity. It seems that only in a crisis are we proud to say we are United Americans.

Enna wrote:

Ooh don't misunderstand me dochira I fully understand the reason we answer the way we do. I have done the same thing myself. I was just agreeing with Geezer about how difficult it will be for Europeans from so many diverse nations to identify with ONE United European identity if we ourselves rarely identify with ONE American identity. It seems that only in a crisis are we proud to say we are United Americans.

You're right. I don't ever see that happening for Europeans.