Officer of Engineers

Where the hell did you get that baloney!

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Chimo

T-bone

What is so bad about Immigration?

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Meat cutting classification NAMP 1174; the porterhouse is NAMP 1173.

T-bone

I think you would have got on well with Hitler.

dalem

As people have been trying to point out for a dozen threads now, because they are just starting to morph into a true industrialist nation, and the "just starting out" part is the economically easy part.

-dale

leib10

What I meant was immigration from (let's be honest) Mexico and other Central American countries where (most) of the immigrants possess little or no technical skills. About the only good these people can do is run a sewing machine or pick fruit, and believe me, we DON'T need any more of those types of people. There are plenty of them here already, legally or illegally.

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"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes." G-Man

The Economist

Are you high on weed?

America is a nation of immigrants. Be it the Irish, Italians or Spanish. The other influx began after WW11. A sizeable portion of US achievements belongs to these people.

I don't need to highlight the propotion of doctors of foreign (Indian)origin in the US. Same is the case in other sectors such as engineering, Scientific developments & above all Silicon Valley.

I assume you are too immature to differentiate between proper legal & illegal immigration.

The problems plaguing countries such as the US & UK are not legal highly skilled migrants but the illegal economic migrants who become a drain on the country's resources.

Rather then having the audacity to baulk @ immigrants who have contributed so much to your country you should size up your politicians, leaders & agencies who have failed time after time to do their job.

gunnut

You are an idiot.

Immigration is what fuels this country. It's what makes us strong.

What we need to do is stop ILLEGAL immigration.

I don't care what immigrants look like. Be they white, black, yellow, or any shade of color in between, as long as they come here to work for a better life and willing to assimilate.

I have a problem with immigrants who come here to establish a microcosm of their own land and refuse to assimilate.

dalem

Exactly. The day that people DON'T want to risk a lot to come here is the day we will have failed the world.

Just do it legally, that's all I ask.

-dale

PubFather

Immigration has defined and strengthened every country. It makes me laugh when people talk about Western nations being ethnically homogenous. Since antiquity, Europe was a blend of migrating races: Celts, Romans, Phoenicians to the Goths, Franks and Huns, the Moors.. It's nonsense.

It especially annoys me in the context of the UK which has seen so many different immigrations over time.

Much of what has kept the UK going in the last few decades has been immigration from hardworking ethnic minorities and its certainly what keeps the health service going.

The cultural argument is nonsense as well - the culture of any western nation is - almost by definition - fluid and subject to change. These changes can be caused by immigration certainly; but they are also caused by technology, media, art, entertainment, social and political pressures - and many more besides. Any attempt to "freeze" a culture results in its death, in the same way that frozen languages are dead languages.

Immigration does need to be controlled - if nothing else so that the infrastructure (including education/health/physical) of a country isnt overwhelmed. Controlled, not stopped: that simply causes stagnation and decline

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gunnut

I present the best example of a nation resistant to immigration: Japan.

It's extremely hard to obtain Japanese citizenship. Japanese are very reluctant to accept people who don't look like them or think like them.

Yes, a lot of foreigners work and live in Japan, but they'll never settle there and raise a family there the way immigrants do in the US. They'll never be accepted as "Japanese" like the immigrants are accepted as "American."

It'll be interesting to see what happens to Japan in the next 30 years.

astralis

dalem,

true, but only partially. the reason why they've been booming is because they've taken to heart the best examples of the export economy, following the footsteps of singapore/south korea/japan/taiwan; at the same time, they have learned something from the 97 crisis, which is why there's a current emphasis on internal market development.

of course, "just starting out" is relative. japan had a 25 year boom of 8+% growth followed by a 10 year boomlet. south korea had a 25 year boom, followed by two 5-8 year boomlets. taiwan and singapore, an even longer original boom, close to 30 years.

china had a medium sized boom of about 5-8 years in the 80s; this is currently the 14th year of their second boom. so using historical standards, they have some way to go before their growth "moderates" to a relatively "low" 3-5% growth rate.

so by the time the "easy part" is finished...their economy is already going to be quite some size. and there's no indication thus far that they're not up to the challenge of the "hard part"- south korea, taiwan, singapore, and japan have all passed that test.

anyway, not really an argument- just some food for thought.

Confed999

Please stop with the personal attacks.

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I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
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scotsboyuk

I saw the article on digg and found it rather interesting. The first thing to say is that the U.S. is likely to continue as the world's dominant economic and military power for the foreseeable future. Superpower status is not just about being rich or having a powerful military or even a combination of both. There is also the capacity to wield those traits on the global stage in such a way that most, if not all, other nations cannot withstand them. There is also a cultural component that should not be underestimated.

Part of America's power is derived from the 'American Dream'. During the 20th century American films, products and cultural icons were spread around the world and they galvanised people to emulate them. People saw American life as something to look up to and be admired.

If we look at China we can see that it has a large and powerful military and a fast growing economy. However, if we look deeper we see something else too. China's military strength is regional, not global. China may have millions of troops and thousands of tanks and other vehicles, but can it deploy them effectively to any point in the world?

Furthermore China does not have the 'gunboat factor'. A true superpower does not always need to take military action, sometimes the mere threat of it is enough to win the day. The British Empire could threaten to send in a gunboat just as the U.S. can threaten to send in bombers in the full knowledge that they would be an irresistable force to just about any opposing nation.

In economic terms China is certainly doing well. However, one must realise that economic growth and increasing prosperity bring their own problems. Eventually China will have to deal with rising expectations from its people, which will probably serve to make it less competitive in terms of attracting foriegn investment as wages increase and regulations become more stringent. Becoming a First World economy doesn't suddenly guarantee everlasting prosperity, it has to be worked for just as First World status was worked for.

But the point about complaceny is important. A nation is at its most vulnerable when it believes itself to be invulnerable. In the space of thirty years or so the British Empire went from being the largest and most powerful empire in human history to an empire in decline. The world waits for no man or nation, time marches on with or with you.

In the near future I think we shall probably see a lessening of America's political domination of global affairs as other nations gain a more powerful voice, but ultimately America will still retain, for the foreseeable future, the capacity to be able to force its will through if it wishes.

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gunnut

Sorry.

Although I justified why the man's an idiot. It's not just a one-liner attacking his intellect.

cris29

i hope and truly believe that america will stay no1.
even though im british, u will always want the no1 superpower 2 be of the same culture and allies of ur nation.