im watching this thread/poll while eating popcorn :D













:matchup:

If mindset, education and language skills are so much better in wherever it is that you hail from, perhaps it is time for you to return there. We wouldn't want you to stay in the US, only to be continuously dissapointed and unfulfilled. The United States will certainly suffer without the benefit of your life's lessons on culture from ****************-holia, but we'll attempt to continue on without you.

The last time I was at a college graduation, it seemed nearly half the student were foreign. It seems that a lot of them just can't wait to attend our crummy schools.

What really gets them "bulged-eyed" is when they find out that we American work far more hours and take far less vacation that our European counterparts. Kind of blows that "lazy American" thing right out of the water.

The language issue has nothing to do with anything else that has been stated. Most people that will "talk" improperly on forums will not do so when writing a letter or speaking to their boss.

The Internet has gotten the image of being a playground more than a office so people take liberties here, especially on hobby forums, that they would never take in the office. With the relaxed atmosphere comes the use of slang as opposed to proper English use.

As for our "poor" state of education, I will give you that the public school systems in some areas have failed. That is not due only to the school but also to the parenting that the student receives. When looking on the lever of higher education things change. There are a lot of people from all over the world that would love to come to the States in order to go to University. I am willing to bet that our University foreign enrollment is much greater than any other countries.

Just like everything else, it is just the popularity of making fun of whatever country is not your own. This is enhanced if the country happens to be in power. Before the States became a superpower the target of may jokes was Britain. So if if makes you feel better to believe in the stereotypes and if this way you can have a heightened sense of self worth and accomplishment, then by all means go ahead. It does not bother me any.

Now that we have gone completely off topic, can we get back on. Is this not what the "Off Topic" forum is for?

-aren

I'm guilty of most of those, except American Idol, can't believe 30 Million people tune in to watch karaoke.

I'am 100% positive the country you hail from has got as little handle on there english skills as we do here in america... Whats with your slag in the UK, i mean i cant even fathom what it means. For instance, here are some words i heard in the movies Snatch and Bend it like Beckom: La'Haterz, Yar'Bawls, Flogg most i cannot even remember the rest of them cause the words are so no where similar to what they discribe!

Is this necessary? Do you have to reply w/ an attack about educational system and how Americans has a "lazy" mindset :confused:

Coz' I don't see anyone here responded to your thread with a negative attitude or attacking you as a foreign guest.....

BTW..im a filipino pansit eating mother hamper :D

I don't think he realized that this forum is called 986forum.com and not 986forum.co.uk

so chances are the majority or a large percentage of the forum members would be Americans with very ethnic backgrounds as I am of Spanish descent and Irish descent.

Now boys, please play nicely!

Ok ill put the flesh eating poodles back in there cages... DOWN unclekracker, Down grizzly! HEYAHHH back in your cages! :)

ROFL!!!! And I never use that internet slang junk!!! CJ, that was some funny ****************!!!

Cj..you're a crazy foo...hahahahahaha! I should have posted my gangsta pix next to my comment :D

Grizzly wrote:
> The United States will certainly suffer without the benefit of your
> life's lessons on culture from ****************-holia, but we'll attempt to
> continue on without you.


Classy. Actually, it seems that you've already sufficient knowledge of both sociology and geography, not to mention civility.

-- peer

JackG wrote:
> The last time I was at a college graduation, it seemed nearly
> half the student were foreign.

Maybe because the 'mericans (with their "lazy" mindset) didn't make it to graduation day..?

(sorry, I couldn't resist ;^)

-- peer

CJ_Boxster wrote:
> I'am 100% positive the country you hail from has got as little handle
> on there english skills as we do here in america... Whats with your
> slag in the UK, i mean i cant even fathom what it means.
> [...]
> I don't think he realized that this forum is called 986forum.com and not 986forum.co.uk


What the hell are you talking about?! I'm from Norway, hence, we speak Norwegian.

-- peer

Just curious, what's your "favorite" forum peeve..?

Hi guys, now to respond to the original question my favorite forum peeve is when you guys HIJACK the threads and let your ego's do the typing , then i have to go back to "new posts"and verify if i clicked on the wrong thread but no i didn't it was some immigrants who didn't understand the original question. :p

I juggle 4 languages so excuse me if i do make some mistakes when expressing my thoughts.(CANADIANS ARE THE BEST ;) )

Actually, my statement was "The last time I was at a college graduation, it seemed nearly half the student were foreign. It seems that a lot of them just can't wait to attend our crummy schools."

It's funny that you're good with my statement that actually invalidates 90% of your attempted counter-point. ;^)

Cheers!

it started as pet peeves to cultural attack to flesh eating poodle and now immigrants :confused:

I love this forum :D

right now, i don't mind being a martian :eek:

Got any more of that supposed popcorn? I'm hungry, in a global-warming sort of way!

:D :D

hold on..popping more popcorn. would you like some butter? it's organic :D :dance:

Humor is the best medicine, keep it acoming UNKLE :D
Now i must go make love to my immigrant wife ciao ;)

No. The fake butter's better.

Say that three times fast. :cheers:

Americans have even managed to breed the civility out of French Poodles...

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k2...011/poodle.jpg

Now I know where the brand "I can't believe it's butter" came from..it's from the fake butt is better...hahahahahaha!

2 thumbs up for you, Sir Jack! :cheers:

Franco wrote:
> Hi guys, now to respond to the original question my favorite forum
> peeve is when you guys HIJACK the threads and let your ego's do the
> typing , then i have to go back to "new posts"and verify if i clicked
> on the wrong thread but no i didn't it was some immigrants who didn't
> understand the original question.


"Immigrants who didn't understand the original question"..?! Hey, listen Franco -- I was the one who started this thread, so I know quite well what the "original question" was. And yes, I'm a Norwegian living in California, bulged-eyed by the literacy level of the American people.

-- peer

Why do you continue to generalize and insult (incorrectly I might add) the people from the country you choose to live in?

Says more about you than it does Americans.

peer, when in a hole, first stop digging. I still believe you didn't really mean this, and that your (US) university is one of those still good enough to teach you the pitfalls of generalization. Just IMO.
Z.

66 now 67 posts......you knew there had to be a fight brewing in here somewhere :D If I could only get this response rate to why my radio sucks or how to remove my frickin side vents...

my pet peeve are the people that complain excessively about typing....it really isn't that bad on this here site.....face it guys, its a forum, I'm not typing my post for an A on my paper :D

now if you'll excuse me, back to being a lazy merican :cheers:

kracker, hilarious on the popcorn comment!

someone has to throw humors, right :D I would love to make some comment but, this place/forum is a cool place to hang out with to start an arguement :)

since it's only 6:45am here, I put the popcorn aside and now toasting a bagel and drinking coffee while watching..anyone wants some bagel and coffee :D

Rob-00BoxsterS wrote:
> Why do you continue to generalize and insult (incorrectly I might
> add) the people from the country you choose to live in?

How's pointing to a well known fact insulting? Pray tell. Perhaps you also think my poll was insulting? If so, I apologize.

z12358 wrote:
> I still believe you didn't really mean this, and that your (US)
> university is one of those still good enough to teach you the
> pitfalls of generalization.

The "pitfalls of generalization"..? Well, among the nuggets I picked up from my statistics classes were that even a phrase like 'American people' is a general term. Hence, the following is a true & correct statement; the illiteracy level of the American people is among the highest in the industrialized world. If that feels like a "pitfall" to you, then I apologize also to you.

Now, can't we just let this silly thread die?

Love, peace, and understanding.

-- peer

uhh...I really hate it when people key "break" when they really mean "brake".


ps does the period go inside the parernthesis or outside? : )

No one blames you for repeating the fallacies that you've been taught. Here are some counter-points:

"When it comes to international comparisons, it's essential to remember that there is no standard definition of literacy and that many nations rely on self-reporting: in the census, people are often asked "Can you read and write" or even "Can you read and write your name", and the answer for this question is then simply accepted.

Many Europeans gleefully latch on to this figure about the US but then fail to critically examine how literacy numbers are generated in their own countries. Many European countries have sizeable immigrant populations from poor countries in which illiteracy is very common. It's surprising, therefore, that these populations apparently do no exceed 0.01% of the general population. When I've raised this matter in casual conversations with European friends, they tend to respond, "Ah, but those people are Somalis/Turks/Berbers/Pakistanis/Kurds/Nepalis, not real Swedes/Germans/French/Italians/Britons, so they don't count." Non-citizens, including those without legal papers, most certainly did count in the National Adult Literacy Survey (as they should have), and this also needs to be borne in mind."

You must question all data points. Maybe that's a class you didn't take?

JackG wrote:
> in the census, people are often asked "Can you read and write"

This is not accurate. The international illiteracy census is quite more intricate than that. For example, it comprises items that are shared among the industrialized countries -- in addition to standardized reading & writing, it also includes daily/trivial things like finding the expiration date on a credit card, reading street signs, etc. And following this thread on this forum, it wouldn't surprise me that it will soon also include reading the instructions for microwave popcorn.

-- peer

Even if it was a 'fact' (which it is not), maybe it's not like that in Norway, but here you don't come to someone's house, have dinner that their mother cooked and served, and after all that you start reminding them about the fact that their mother is fat.

You were given a few helping hands to get yourself out of the hole that you dug yourself into. Stubbornly, you seem to prefer to keep digging.

Z.

yah, i was following this thread and totally forgot that microwave should be set to 2 1/2 minutes in med. setting not high settings...now I got smoked flavor popcorn...anyone want some? :D

Happy Friday Y'all :cheers:

LOL. We keep lighting the fuse and you keep blowing it out.

Good job!

Every forum should have a dedicated "Popcorn Popper".

Happy Friday to you also......

You keep missing the point. There is no "international illiteracy census". There is no international standard test to measure illiteracy. Everyone does it their own way, so the results can't be compared on equal footing. Additionally, a simple google search will reveal that the published figures vary all over the place depending on who is publishing them and for what reason they were published.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to read, but even more important is to be able to understand simple concepts. ;)

Thanks Rob! I don't mind being the guy who wear red vest serving popcorn or the usher with the flashlight while you guys watch :D

@Jack..I give you props, dude! :cheers:

Hi,

I still can't believe I'm on the Sideline on this one... :)

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Come on, Jim, get in the Game!


Engage, Maveric, engage.....