Marney

[Guest The Metal Maniac]

I really think that "Greatest Country on Earth" is something that's really too abstract to decide upon.

 

Like, Country X might be a shitty place to live, but they could have a monsterous army. Or country Y might be an excellent place to live, but their army may not be all that. I think there's too many factors, really, and it boils down to whichever one you perfer: Security, comfort, or whatever else tickles your fancy.

 

Like, I would think that while the USA may have an excellent army, it may not be the best place to live, especially in some of the bigger cities, where the crime rate is rather high. Now, living in a small town all my life, crime is something that I just don't really have to worry about, so the thought of being in a much larger city where it's more widespread, well...that bothers me.

 

And then again, it could easily be argued that Canada is a better country. After all, it's a safe place to live, (I think we won the "Best Country to Live in Award" or something like that from the UN or something a while back.) but hey, while we don't have a big army of our own, we have all the right connections: Canada doesn't have to stand alone in a war, unless we do something really stupid. Outside of that, we have backup no matter what, really. Including from the US.

 

So we manage to have the benefit of your military, as well as the general nice-ness of our country.

 

And it's not like we have no contributions to the world at large. There are those that could argue that without Canada, D-Day may not have been a success, Vimy Ridge may not have been taken, and there may not be Peacekeepers floating around the world today.

 

And I'm not saying that Canada is the best country, because like I said, I don't think that there *is* a country you can state as fact is the best. I'm just saying that the argument could be made.

 

The bottom line is, I think it's all a matter of opinion, like naming one band the best in the world. We will never get everyone to agree on that; So we'll never get anyone to agree on a best country.

[Zorin Industries 0]

Although it would be fair to say in the past that the U.K would be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with the U.S, it seems to me that the latest rumblings from Parliment is that very few M.Ps are willing to accept the war on Iraq.

 

It seems to be the first real issue were there is A LOT of concern from Tony Blair that he could be in big trouble if he makes the wrong choice.

 

Half the country is for an attack, half against, so it could go either way.

[Guest TJH]

You stood up for your country MR.COOLING. The United Kingdom is one of the only country's in the world that the U.S. can truely depend on.

I'd go as far as to say they're the only one we can reliably count on, day in and day out. I'd also place them right behind the USA in the "greatest country" race. The sun may set on the British Empire these days, but she capably joins America in making sure the rest of the world doesn't fall into darkness.

I mean come on. I hate to push the point but Australia has been there all the way with the USA. WW2, Korea, Nam, Gulf War, war on terror.

[Guest DARRYLXWF]

Well logically if there is more than one country in the world there should be a greatest. I can't think of any country better than America, can you?

 

While I agree with 99% of the things you say 'Some Guy', I've gotta disagree on this one.

 

Firstly, the word 'greatest.' In terms of power and wealth, US takes the award. But Australia is a more livable country than any where else in the world today. While crime is relatively high in Australia, a 10 year old can still take a train with very little chance of anything bad happening. Plus, we gained our independance without any major war. Our history is boring, because nothing BAD has ever happened in Australia, that's why I think it's the best anyway.

[Guest TJH]

While I agree with 99% of the things you say 'Some Guy', I've gotta disagree on this one.

 

Firstly, the word 'greatest.' In terms of power and wealth, US takes the award. But Australia is a more livable country than any where else in the world today. While crime is relatively high in Australia, a 10 year old can still take a train with very little chance of anything bad happening. Plus, we gained our independance without any major war. Our history is boring, because nothing BAD has ever happened in Australia, that's why I think it's the best anyway.

Darryl is exactly right.

[Guest Some Guy]

What's your chances of getting killed by a wild animal in Australia? I bet it's a hell of a lot higher than America.

But seriously there are very few places where crime is rampant in AMerica. Mainly big cities like LA, NYC, Chicago, etc... and even then crime is really only high in pockets of those cities, like the South Side of Chicago or variuos parts of the five boroughs in NYC. I find my town to be quite nice to live in an I'd bet 90% of Americans like where they live and feel pretty safe.

[Guest DARRYLXWF]

What's your chances of getting killed by a wild animal in Australia? I bet it's a hell of a lot higher than America.

I've always had a problem with Foreigners making jokes about the dangers of Australian wildlife. But alas, it's true. We have many dangerous animals in Australia.

 

But let's put it this way, there's a alot of desolate space in this Country, and a HUGE percentage of our population live in the cities as a result. The chance of a kangaroo, wombat, koala, snake etc coming to your suburban house and attacking you is as likely as a Grizzly bear coming to your door.

You'd still have to be an idiot to be REMOTELY intimidated by a kangaroo, and an even bigger idiot to go walking in long grass during summer heat.

 

My point, I'm talking about where the majority of Australians live, the city. And I can assure you that there's no koala's tampering with the electric wires in our homes.

 

Another thing, compare the Sydney olympics to the Atlanta olympics...ALOT better.

[Guest Some Guy]

That was a bombing and Sydney happend after Atlanta so they were more prepared and had better security.

Whatever, my sister went to Aus and she said it was cool and it's one of the few foriegn countries I want to visit so I'll call this a draw.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

we combine America's dymanism and free market ecnomics (although we invented those) we have a not stifling amount of European social market help for the poor

Uh... just how much do you know about your NHS?

 

the best Army £ for £ in the world

You've got to be kidding. One or two branches are still well-trained and decently equipped, but your overall military technology is a joke. It has been for decades.

 

the best legal system

I'll give you that.

 

Shakespere, Orwell, Dickens, Hardy and AJP Taylor

And PG Wodehouse. Don't forget PG Wodehouse. Kenneth Grahame, too.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I don't think I could deal with the snakes in Australia. There's some poisonous mofo's on that little continent.

 

In my experience, I've been to three countries. Mexico, USA, and Canada. I've lived in America all my life, and aside from a few complaints about the legal system, our system of election, and how politicians piss our money away on obscure wars on crime and drugs, I'm perfectly fine.

 

Canada I was in briefly, enjoyed the fries with gravy, the pretty scenery, but didn't really learn much about their system of government. From what I hear, there's hash bars in Vancouver, which I'm definitely planning on checking out, so we'll call Canada a maybe at this point.

 

I can't drink the water in Mexico, and I don't speak the language, so that's right out, although I do enjoy their pyramids and cheap stuff. Nothing in particular, but stuff was just way cheaper down there, by an amazing margin.

[Guest DARRYLXWF]

I don't think I could deal with the snakes in Australia. There's some poisonous mofo's on that little continent.

 

The whole snake business is blown WAY out of proportion. It's like me saying I deal with all the bears in the U.S

 

Sure if you stray off a path in the bush and decided walking in grass 2 feet high would be better, or you decided to shove your hand down a snake hole to see if there's any chocolate, you could get bitten.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I don't think I could deal with the snakes in Australia. There's some poisonous mofo's on that little continent.

 

The whole snake business is blown WAY out of proportion. It's like me saying I deal with all the bears in the U.S

Bears are nothing to trifle with either....campers beware. I'd rather deal with a grizzly than a boomslang. I can see a bear coming, and don't have to worry about one getting in my shoes or stepping on it while it's laying in the shade. heh. point taken about the whole snake thing being blown out of proportion, as I'm sure it is. See, in america, if you're an Australian, you either look like Crocodile Dundee or Steve Irwin, and you definitely act the same way. heh.