|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
|
 Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:35 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
| radcon wrote: |
| Pretty much every Brit I have met over the years here in Asia has had nothing good to say about the current state of affairs in England. Way too expensive, lack of decent jobs and social mobility, high taxes, Chav culture, rampant street violence and anti social behavior, women are some combination of fat, ugly, drunk; yet feel entitled. |
Yes I agree that we have those things but I think street violence is worse in the US along with a higher murder rate.
Yes Britain is expensive but our minimum wage is higher than yours. Jobs can be found if you know how to look for them ( my last search took me 4 days which was in June 2011 before I came to Korea)
As for the women they are clearly not all like that, just go to any bar / club in the UK and you will see for yourself. As for feeling entitled I lived in the US and had US girlfriends, and think that our women are much much grounded and chilled in comparison.
Also final point, you claim about the Brits you meet saying these things which is fair enough, but I would have to say that almost all the Americans I have met here, and during my 3 years living in Mexico, have very little good to say about life in the US. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
lichtarbeiter
Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Location: Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| radcon wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| Quote: |
| Fitness? I dont think Canadians are in any position to be commenting on the obesity of any nation. |
In cases where a nation has more than double our obesity rate, I would disagree.
| Quote: |
| How many of the worlds top 25 universities are Canadian? |
Having top universities is not an indicator of having a top education system. Quality education is just a minor component in what makes a top university. A more important component is a university's background in innovative research. The US dominates the rest of the world in this area, and it would be ignorant to pretend otherwise.
It doesn't change the fact that American students lag behind their counterparts in other OECD countries in key educational indicators. Even the most patriotic Americans acknowledge that education is a mess in their country right now.
| Quote: |
| Canada has worse rates of assualt, rape, bribery, drug offenses, and number of crime victims than the US. (Nationmaster.com) |
Regarding drug offences, if you check the original data, you will see that Nationmaster flubbed it and reported the nominal figure of drug offences rather than drug offence rate. You couldn't honestly believe that Canada has 92,590 offences per 100,000 people (an average of almost one offence per person!) while the US has 560 per 100,000, could you?
Regarding the other categories, you made false conclusions based on what the statistics actually show. Look at your source more carefully, and you should see what I'm saying. |
How did I make false accusations based on the info from Nationmaster?
Assualt victims in Canada: 2.3% of population in USA 1.2%
rape victims in Canada: .8% of population in the USA .4%
Total crime victims in Canada: 23.8% in the USA 21.1%
Tell me how my accusations are false? If you don't believe nationmaster post your own source. |
First of all, your conclusion was that "Canada has worse rates of...", when in fact victim survey results and crime rates are not the same thing.
Second, the "total crime victims" category is ridiculous in itself since even the subtext acknowledges that its not a measurement of the total crime victims, but rather a measurement of the victims of 11 preceding crime categories (which doesn't even include homicide).
Regarding Nationmaster, it gives meaningful insight on a number of issues, but the figures they chose to report here are somewhat bizarre. Using victim surveys rather than police statistics of reported crimes has its advantages, but its results are based on polls rather than hard data. When you consider that each figure is derived from a different poll in a different country which used a different set of methodologies from the others, to compare the figures as if they're part of the same study is rather ridiculous. Further problems related to victim-survey method can be found here: http://www.skogan.org/files/Measurement_Problems_Official_Survey_Crime_Rates.pdf
Of course, police statistics are also problematic since not all crimes are reported. However, one category where such statistics are reliable is homicide, since the number of unreported homicides in such developed countries is none or very few.
In this category, the US leads Canada 5.00/100,000 to 1.81/100,000. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
pugwall
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| radcon wrote: |
| Pretty much every Brit I have met over the years here in Asia has had nothing good to say about the current state of affairs in England. Way too expensive, lack of decent jobs and social mobility, high taxes, Chav culture, rampant street violence and anti social behavior, women are some combination of fat, ugly, drunk; yet feel entitled. |
You have to take it with a pinch of salt though. It is our culture to complain and be pessimistic. Our newspapers all paint the picture that the place is turning into Sodom and Gomorrah. Adzee is a bit of an exception to the rule. We also love other people pointing out our faults. Which is a bit odd.
Truthfully, England is a great place with a long and complex history and culture. We have given the world 50 per cent of its inventions, its Lingua Franca and most of its sports. We punch well above our weight in Academia (Which I attribute to the natural critical nature of Brits- stemming from our weather).In my opinion, British has the most developed sense of humor, although it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Culturally the Uk is a powerhouse, especially in music, drama, art, architecture. We are at the top of fashion and design with most Paris fashion houses having Brits as head designer. Unfortunately non of these things really make money for more than a few people.
London is a really amazing city and always will be. If you like music, clubs, fashion, art etc. it really is tops. However the place has just got too expensive, the cost of living is ridiculous.
I think Britain cannot really meet the quality of life in America, Canada and Australia. Things are too expensive, the weather is too bad and there are just too many people in such a small place. We also have the issue of an ingrained class system that seeps into every aspect of our lives. We have gone through a decline of sorts and a part of our famous civil society has deteriorated. But, Britain will always be a great country, we just need to get back on track again. Pessimism and cynicism is fine, it is part of who we are and in many ways gives us many advantages. I just wish we had an ounce of the optimism of North Americans. I really admire it and the belief that things are going to get better.
Thread hijack over. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
MollyBloom
Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Location: James Joyce's pants
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
Besides, since when does celebrity determine greatness? I guess that stems from the fact that celebrity worship is primarily an American concept.
. |
Celebrity worship is not a concept that the Americans created. Europe has a far longer history, especially in England and France. I read somewhere Louis the XIV was the first celebrity that people were obsessed about, and that was the 17c. The history of celebrity worship is an up-and-coming area of sociology, and a lot of books are being written about the subject. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
You have to take it with a pinch of salt though. It is our culture to complain and be pessimistic. Our newspapers all paint the picture that the place is turning into Sodom and Gomorrah. Adzee is a bit of an exception to the rule. We also love other people pointing out our faults. Which is a bit odd. (quote)
Hey, agree with a lot of what you said, I am not some ultra proud Brit nationalist or anything and I can recognise the faults of Britain of which there are many, the main points I was trying to make was pretty much that my opinion is that its better than the USA to live from my personal experience mainly because of reasons you mentioned such as i prefer the culture, music, sports, sense of humour, fashion etc...
Saying that though I prefer it far more when I am not living there and have spent the last 4 years living in other countries, which i think I will continue to do for a while yet.
As for the sense of optimism in the US, I have to say that was one of the things I disliked the most about living there  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lichtarbeiter
Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Location: Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:22 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
Besides, since when does celebrity determine greatness? I guess that stems from the fact that celebrity worship is primarily an American concept.
. |
Celebrity worship is not a concept that the Americans created. Europe has a far longer history, especially in England and France. I read somewhere Louis the XIV was the first celebrity that people were obsessed about, and that was the 17c. The history of celebrity worship is an up-and-coming area of sociology, and a lot of books are being written about the subject. |
Indeed. My comment was rather tongue-and-cheek, invoking the stereotype of Americans being celebrity-obsessed to relate to shifter's repeated implication that being great and being famous are one and the same. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shifter2009
Joined: 03 Sep 2006
Location: wisconsin
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
Besides, since when does celebrity determine greatness? I guess that stems from the fact that celebrity worship is primarily an American concept.
. |
Celebrity worship is not a concept that the Americans created. Europe has a far longer history, especially in England and France. I read somewhere Louis the XIV was the first celebrity that people were obsessed about, and that was the 17c. The history of celebrity worship is an up-and-coming area of sociology, and a lot of books are being written about the subject. |
Indeed. My comment was rather tongue-and-cheek, invoking the stereotype of Americans being celebrity-obsessed to relate to shifter's repeated implication that being great and being famous are one and the same. |
Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey to ever live. His name nick name is The Great One. It's your country who's national obsession is hockey but the greatest hockey player ever now resides in America because he knows its awesome. We welcome Wayne with open arms because we are accepting. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
itistime
Joined: 23 Jul 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| joelove wrote: |
| Is this the greatest thread ever or what? Amirite? And what's the deal with airports? Women be shoppin... |
That is true, though.
Women do be shoppin. Eddie Murphy is funny.
Great thread. NOT.
I think the pissing contest is quite trivial.
1. U.S. is the size Europe, and some. That's fairly
comparable to lots of cultures and the like. (good and bad)
2. 90% of Canada is uninhabited.
3. England is the the size of what?? Japan?
All the 'we', 'us', 'our', 'you guys' - very laughable.
Nationalism is a funny thing, huh? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lichtarbeiter
Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Location: Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| shifter2009 wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
Besides, since when does celebrity determine greatness? I guess that stems from the fact that celebrity worship is primarily an American concept.
. |
Celebrity worship is not a concept that the Americans created. Europe has a far longer history, especially in England and France. I read somewhere Louis the XIV was the first celebrity that people were obsessed about, and that was the 17c. The history of celebrity worship is an up-and-coming area of sociology, and a lot of books are being written about the subject. |
Indeed. My comment was rather tongue-and-cheek, invoking the stereotype of Americans being celebrity-obsessed to relate to shifter's repeated implication that being great and being famous are one and the same. |
Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey to ever live. His name nick name is The Great One. It's your country who's national obsession is hockey but the greatest hockey player ever now resides in America because he knows its awesome. We welcome Wayne with open arms because we are accepting. |
Sorry, he's only been rated the #9 Greatest Canadian. If you guys had the #1 Greatest Canadian, you might have universal health care by now.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
KingMomo
Joined: 25 Aug 2011
Location: Here and there
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:49 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Adzee, I�m sure you�re a helluva guy/gal.
I am really sorry that you had to live in LA. I wouldn�t wish
That on my worst enemy. The rankometer site is a bit silly.
If you know anything about beer ( I�m guessing because of you�re �we win� comment that you don�t) then you�d think much differently. I won�t claim to be an expert, but I know dozens who are. Some Brits, too. The craft brew industry in the U.S. has a plethora of the tastiest hop/malt/barley combinations in the world. This is quite easy to imagine given the ingredients it takes to make tasty sh l + Just think, �bread basket of the world�. Ok. Finished. Sorry, Belgians, French, Germans, Italians. That goes for west coast vineyards too.
Music and scene? Do you know where many of your favourite British artists� influences came from? Hey, I think LZ is the greatest rocknroll band of all time, but you�re gonna have to learn a little more about music. Another poster already pointed out the jazz, rock, hiphop, blues, soul, and multiple other genres that many artists from the U.S. have churned out. Notice how I don�t say WE or OURS? Festivals in England? So, somewhere like the size of Florida, you say? Remember the U.S. is a large land mass. There are a multitude of festivals of many different mediums in that country.
Fashion? Who really wears that stuff, anyways?
Police? F&c* the police.
Creativity? Wow, you�re really stretching it. If you�re watching TV, you deserve to be duped and misled. Throw that junk out the window! For the record, I browse BBC and The Economist on a weekly basis, among many other global sources. Who the hell watches CNN and FOX?
To be fair, I wouldn�t live in 90% of the U.S. I think it�d be cool to try London out for a year. God knows I�d shoot myself or write a hit song because of the dreary weather during my stint there. That being said, I won�t be spending another winter in Korea. I certainly wouldn�t spend much time in the English climate either. Are there nice beaches in England? I wasn�t aware. I�ll be sure to visit Bristol and Cornwall. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| KingMomo wrote: |
Adzee, I�m sure you�re a helluva guy/gal.
I am really sorry that you had to live in LA. I wouldn�t wish
That on my worst enemy. The rankometer site is a bit silly.
If you know anything about beer ( I�m guessing because of you�re �we win� comment that you don�t) then you�d think much differently. I won�t claim to be an expert, but I know dozens who are. Some Brits, too. The craft brew industry in the U.S. has a plethora of the tastiest hop/malt/barley combinations in the world. This is quite easy to imagine given the ingredients it takes to make tasty sh l + Just think, �bread basket of the world�. Ok. Finished. Sorry, Belgians, French, Germans, Italians. That goes for west coast vineyards too.
Music and scene? Do you know where many of your favourite British artists� influences came from? Hey, I think LZ is the greatest rocknroll band of all time, but you�re gonna have to learn a little more about music. Another poster already pointed out the jazz, rock, hiphop, blues, soul, and multiple other genres that many artists from the U.S. have churned out. Notice how I don�t say WE or OURS? Festivals in England? So, somewhere like the size of Florida, you say? Remember the U.S. is a large land mass. There are a multitude of festivals of many different mediums in that country.
Fashion? Who really wears that stuff, anyways?
Police? F&c* the police.
Creativity? Wow, you�re really stretching it. If you�re watching TV, you deserve to be duped and misled. Throw that junk out the window! For the record, I browse BBC and The Economist on a weekly basis, among many other global sources. Who the hell watches CNN and FOX?
To be fair, I wouldn�t live in 90% of the U.S. I think it�d be cool to try London out for a year. God knows I�d shoot myself or write a hit song because of the dreary weather during my stint there. That being said, I won�t be spending another winter in Korea. I certainly wouldn�t spend much time in the English climate either. Are there nice beaches in England? I wasn�t aware. I�ll be sure to visit Bristol and Cornwall. |
Yeh the rankometer I dont take seriously trust me, just a bit of fun ! With regards to Beer im sure you have some great beers I just think ours are better, especially the more commerically available ones.
Music, Im not saying that US music is bad but that UK music is better in my opinion when it comes to certain genres, Yes the US have been innovators in many genres of music but so has the UK. We started professional football but we are NOT the best at it.
Festivals - have been to many in both countries and found the UK ones much better, not saying that i didnt enjoy the US ones but that the UK ones had better line ups, more friendly laid back people and less hassle from security / officials.
Fashion - Im not talking high fashion because yes of course I dont wear that stuff, just talking about the general style of everyday people being better in England. ( and less really oversized T-shirts)
Yes I agree F$$K the police.. but would rather have more calm police with no guns compared to.... over excited, power tripping gun toting police, with stricter enforcements for more basic crimes.
Fair play that you dont, but I think you will find quite large portion of the US population actually watch CNN and FOX actually and believe what they hear.
I would actually quite like to live in NY or SF for a stint but who knows if I will make it.
London is cool but as someone else said very expensive to live but is possible, as for beaches in Britain just search on google and you will see. My personal favorites would be in the counties of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Northumberland and also Wales and Scotland have some great ones as well. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shifter2009
Joined: 03 Sep 2006
Location: wisconsin
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| shifter2009 wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
Besides, since when does celebrity determine greatness? I guess that stems from the fact that celebrity worship is primarily an American concept.
. |
Celebrity worship is not a concept that the Americans created. Europe has a far longer history, especially in England and France. I read somewhere Louis the XIV was the first celebrity that people were obsessed about, and that was the 17c. The history of celebrity worship is an up-and-coming area of sociology, and a lot of books are being written about the subject. |
Indeed. My comment was rather tongue-and-cheek, invoking the stereotype of Americans being celebrity-obsessed to relate to shifter's repeated implication that being great and being famous are one and the same. |
Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey to ever live. His name nick name is The Great One. It's your country who's national obsession is hockey but the greatest hockey player ever now resides in America because he knows its awesome. We welcome Wayne with open arms because we are accepting. |
Sorry, he's only been rated the #9 Greatest Canadian. If you guys had the #1 Greatest Canadian, you might have universal health care by now. |
We got 9 and 10. The list is mostly prime ministers and Don Cherry. Not sure if its fair for us to be expected to snag up your prime ministers. I think we got everything who we wanted besides the insulin guy. That would have been a feather in our cap. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lichtarbeiter
Joined: 15 Nov 2006
Location: Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:54 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| shifter2009 wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| shifter2009 wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
| MollyBloom wrote: |
| lichtarbeiter wrote: |
Besides, since when does celebrity determine greatness? I guess that stems from the fact that celebrity worship is primarily an American concept.
. |
Celebrity worship is not a concept that the Americans created. Europe has a far longer history, especially in England and France. I read somewhere Louis the XIV was the first celebrity that people were obsessed about, and that was the 17c. The history of celebrity worship is an up-and-coming area of sociology, and a lot of books are being written about the subject. |
Indeed. My comment was rather tongue-and-cheek, invoking the stereotype of Americans being celebrity-obsessed to relate to shifter's repeated implication that being great and being famous are one and the same. |
Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey to ever live. His name nick name is The Great One. It's your country who's national obsession is hockey but the greatest hockey player ever now resides in America because he knows its awesome. We welcome Wayne with open arms because we are accepting. |
Sorry, he's only been rated the #9 Greatest Canadian. If you guys had the #1 Greatest Canadian, you might have universal health care by now. |
We got 9 and 10. The list is mostly prime ministers and Don Cherry. Not sure if its fair for us to be expected to snag up your prime ministers. I think we got everything who we wanted besides the insulin guy. That would have been a feather in our cap. |
Only 3 were PMs. I don't mind giving you guys Don Cherry either. Offer him his own show on the Fox News Channel, and I'm sure he'll defect. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rollo
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: China
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Dear Op just keep banging away so to speak and soon she will be belting out God Bless America at the climatic moment. Come on bro you got 315 million Americans pulling for you!! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Scoff
Joined: 03 May 2011
Location: Daegu
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 4:58 am Post subject: |
|
|
Why do some Americans love to boast that "90% of Canadians live within
100km of the border?" It really had little to do with America; settlers were merely following the waterways. Look at a map! They travelled West on the St. Lawrence, settled along the way, and continued West along the easiest routes. Sheez!
As for Gretzky, he owns several businesses in Canada, and there are rumours that he's planning to move back there soon.
I'm betting Americans who rib Canada have never even been there. I've been to both, and I prefer Canada. IF America is better, it's only by virtue of its bigger population. Pound-for-pound and per capita, Canada holds its own.
But, really, if we all love our home countries THAT much, why are we all in Korea? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
