Too much American 'culture' in the UK?

[DeathAxe]

If it wasn't for American culture, I wouldn't have any decent movies or TV shows to watch. UK TV shows are absolute crap.

[Rupert_Baehr]

If you want to consider immigration pressure, then surely it's reasonable to compare the number of potential immigrants per square mile or the number of immigrants per capita of existing population?

 

If America is such a crappy place to live, why does it always come out as No 1 using either of those parameters?

 

I was amused by the title of this thread.

 

"Too much 'American Culture' in the UK?"

 

Somebody (IN Nebraska) once asked me: "What do you think of American Civilisation?"

 

I'm a smart-arse.

 

I said "I think it would be a wonderful idea, but it will never catch on."

 

I enjoy living in Europe (which includes the UK) and I enjoy living in the US.

 

When I'm in Germany, I - like all other people present in Germany - am subject to German law and am liable to the restrictions of and entitled to the protections afforded by the German Constitution.

 

All persons lawfully [and also probably those who are there illegally] present in England and Wales are subject to the laws of England and Wales and are granted equal protection under those laws.

 

It's a different matter in the US. The restrictions of US law and those implied by the US constitution apply to all persons within legal range (anybody they can get their hands on) but the US Constitution (and particularly the first 10 Amendments the 'Bill of Rights' [which limits the power of the Federal Government] applies only to US citizens.

 

I'm a lawyer (albeit retired.) The limitations of protection are not (ordinarily) a problem, but they can be a problem.

 

I am not concerned by the lack of protection afforded to me (though most Americans wouldn't accept that.) I've learned to 'work around it.'

 

I don't trust the US government (I don't trust ANY bloody government!) so I have a domicile and a number of residences.

 

Life is what you make of it.

[Alcoblog]

Don't forget ... the Yanks make Harleys!

[thompsonbass]

Absolutely, I think that having big mall-like shopping centres and retail parks and having fast food places makes our regions lose their own character. It's sad knowing that in every city centre there will be a list of so many shops that you can guarantee will be there, variation is good! We don't everything uniform do we?? I really think the Americanisation of the UK has diluted our national identity.. whatever that is.

[Rupert_Baehr]

Don't forget ... the Yanks make Harleys!

 

 

Properganda:

 

A Goose with Balls.

 

Harley-Davidson motorcycles may be assembled in the US, but where are the bits made?

 

I'm a biker. I can buy cut-rate Harleys (for far less than they are available to the general public.)

 

They ask: "Why don't you ride a Harley?"

 

Number of reasons:

 

1. My wife has already over-crowded the living room with ornaments.

2. They don't go around corners.

3. They don't stop.

4. I don't want to have to polish the chrome every time a cloud crosses the sky.

[Alcoblog]

Properganda:

 

A Goose with Balls.

 

Harley-Davidson motorcycles may be assembled in the US, but where are the bits made?

 

I'm a biker. I can buy cut-rate Harleys (for far less than they are available to the general public.)

 

They ask: "Why don't you ride a Harley?"

 

Number of reasons:

 

1. My wife has already over-crowded the living room with ornaments.

2. They don't go around corners.

3. They don't stop.

4. I don't want to have to polish the chrome every time a cloud crosses the sky.

 

In response:

 

1. I don't have a wife.

2. They do go round corners but not as quick as sports bikes.

3. They do stop but not quite as quick as sports bikes.

4. Part of the fun of owning a Harley is keeping it in immaculate condition.

 

I would have thought points 2, 3, and 4 apply equally to Honda Goldwings (do you know anyone who owns one of them?)

 

I've ridden all the big Harleys and never had a problem with handling or braking. Admittedly, you can't lean them round corners as much as a sport bike but that's not what they're built for ... to be honest, they're built for posing on in most cases, hence the telephone directory sized book of custom add-ons.

I was one of the first people in Yorkshire to get an original '02 V-Rod ... I bought it for its stunning looks (and massive performance) A lot of purists don't consider it to be a 'proper' Harley ... watercooled Porsche designed engine for starters. Maybe bits of it weren't made in USA as you point out, but all to the highest quality.

 

Unfortunately, I lost my license and had to sell it a few years ago (a lot of tears) I'm looking for a new bike now but It's gonna most probably be a hand made custom bike (Harley based) or (if I win the lottery) the massively outrageous and beautiful Confederate Wraith, definitely made entirely in USA!

Also there's the 10 litre Dodge Tomahawk and the 8.3 litre V8 Boss Hoss ... both made in the USA!

(Wish I knew how to do links!)

[buck]

Don't forget ... the Yanks make Harleys!

One of my pals has a Harley he fitted with a VW Beetle engine. I don't know how it rides, and I'm not about to find out. I'm a Norton man myself. If it was good enough for George Formby its good enough for me.

[Alcoblog]

One of my pals has a Harley he fitted with a VW Beetle engine. I don't know how it rides, and I'm not about to find out. I'm a Norton man myself. If it was good enough for George Formby its good enough for me.

 

Do you mean a trike? ... I see quite a few customised bikes with VW engines on the back. Sadly, many trikes are ridden by bikers who've had an accident which prevents them from using 2 wheels anymore ... they just don't want a car (in nice weather at least!)

 

I didn't know George Formby was a Norton fan ... my dad was though (and Vincent). He said the brakes were rubbish ... I rode a Commando and I have to agree (compared to modern bikes)

Maybe Mr Formby should've re-titled his song 'When I'm flying through windows'

[SUPERTYKE]

Perhaps somewhere along the way in your ceaseless quest for knowledge you may have heard about the Pacific war carried out by ships of the USN and some British carriers. It was fought at sea almost exclusively by aircraft from the many carriers in action. Your Kriegsmarine battle wagons would not have survived among them. The main purpose of the Battle of Britain was to clear the air of British fighters so that the Home Fleet could be destroyed by the Luftwaffe. It didn't work. As to your comment about having our asses wupped. This is where the talk about SF types comes from. Some of them would love to have the United States reduced to nothing. Am I to include you in that number? It sometimes seems so. The bitter truth about the " ships of the line " is that many of the battleships of ther RN were elderly to say the least. Anson, Howe, Prince of Wales, and KG5 were modern enough, and the superb Vanguard was not commissioned during the war. She was the last of a dying breed. USS Missouri went into action during Desert Storm but has returned to Pearl as a museum piece.I think you might allow me a a little more knowledge about Naval matters than yourself. I am a retired Chief Petty Officer. I deal in facts, not what ifs.

 

 

Yes I am on an unceasing quest for knowledge buck, unlike some who purport to know it all already.

But making unconfirmed assumptions is another trait of American types on here buck. I've had all of that 'I was there, so I know better stuff' before. I have a total of 16 relatives who fought in the armed forces during the second war, some of whom are still living. 7 of them also fought in the first war. 4 of them served in the R.N. One of them a submariner. Until its recent demise, a good friend of mine was a CPO (co-incidentally) on the Invincible Class, Ark Royal. My father was born, like much of his family before him in Tilbury.

 

What ifs?? There would be little to discuss if it were not for 'what ifs' and your attempt to belittle facts that I'm legitimately addressing shows that you've lost none of your dismissive, 'superior' attitude.

 

The points I'm making are (1). Nazi intentions were to starve us of essential imports in this country during the Battle of the Atlantic. This they came VERY near to doing.

 

And (2). Had the Nazis not been deprived of the French Fleet (when we destroyed most of it at anchor) and were it not for smaller but essential actions such as occurred at St Nazaire 1942 the Nazis would have been in a position where they could have mounted a viable invasion on the UK and the US. They would have had all the time in the world to consolidate and mobilise their european gains.

 

Plek epitomises the very worst of jingoistic nationalistic bluster by maintaining that this country was NEVER seriously in danger of TOTAL defeat. Of course it was.

 

I'd hoped that you might redress the balance over pleks 'rule britania burffoonery'.

 

Of course, I should have known that fair weather allies will ALWAYS be just that.

 

The basis of my beef with America is that they should have entered the war sooner instead of waiting to see who would most likely be the winning side.

 

The USA's hesitance could well have produced a very different outcome to the war.

[plekhanov]

Yes I am on an unceasing quest for knowledge buck, unlike some who purport to know it all already.

But making unconfirmed assumptions is another trait of American types on here buck. I've had all of that 'I was there, so I know better stuff' before. I have a total of 16 relatives who fought in the armed forces during the second war, some of whom are still living. 7 of them also fought in the first war. 4 of them served in the R.N. One of them a submariner. Until its recent demise, a good friend of mine was a CPO (co-incidentally) on the Invincible Class, Ark Royal. My father was born, like much of his family before him in Tilbury.

 

What ifs?? There would be little to discuss if it were not for 'what ifs' and your attempt to belittle facts that I'm legitimately addressing shows that you've lost none of your dismissive, 'superior' attitude.

 

The points I'm making are (1). Nazi intentions were to starve us of essential imports in this country during the Battle of the Atlantic. This they came VERY near to doing.

 

And (2). Had the Nazis not been deprived of the French Fleet (when we destroyed most of it at anchor) and were it not for smaller but essential actions such as occurred at St Nazaire 1942 the Nazis would have been in a position where they could have mounted a viable invasion on the UK and the US. They would have had all the time in the world to consolidate and mobilise their european gains.

We understood your staggeringly stupid point the 1st time round, repeating it doesn't make it any less dumb.

 

Britain and the US were respectively the biggest and 2nd biggest naval powers in the world each with navies several times the size of France's never mind Germany. The French and German navies combined would still have been significantly weaker than the Royal Navy alone never mind the Royla Navy and US navy.

 

The notion that the Nazis could have got enough troops across the sea to invade the UK is absurd, the notion that there'd have been anything left after this for the Nazis to take on the American Navy and invade what was far and away the most powerfully productive nation in the world is beyond absurd.

 

Plek epitomises the very worst of jingoistic nationalistic bluster by maintaining that this country was NEVER seriously in danger of TOTAL defeat. Of course it was.

 

I'd hoped that you might redress the balance over pleks 'rule britania burffoonery'.

Yes because only a jingoist could possibly think it most unlikely that an invasion force in river barges would get past the most powerful navy in the world and then go on to take on the 2nd most powerful navy in the world

 

So when I said: "WWII on the other hand would never have been won without the US" how exactly is that 'jingoistic nationalistic bluster'?

 

I've stated that we could not have won the war without the US and that we would have been forced to sign "a peace treaty ceding continental Europe to them [the Nazis]". How is that 'jingoistic nationalistic bluster'?

 

Of course, I should have known that fair weather allies will ALWAYS be just that.

 

The basis of my beef with America is that they should have entered the war sooner instead of waiting to see who would most likely be the winning side.

 

The USA's hesitance could well have produced a very different outcome to the war.

And you accuse me of "jingoistic nationalistic bluster"

 

It was anything but clear that we were going to win the war when the US started giving us free stuff in the lend lease program and when they fully entered the war. Which they did at a time when the Nazis were still very strong. You seem to be getting your wars mixed up the US entered WWI when it was just a matter of time till we won, in WWII on the other hand we needed them badly and could not have done it without them.