Topicless thread

[Red-Machine]

We're the immigration capital of the world right now... That and those damn asylum seekers.  There aren't enough jobs or houses to go round these days.

But Nej, doesn't Britain have the best healthcare system?  What with the National Health Service?

[Nichi]

Good to see it all calmed down eventually ^_^;

Well, although my game collection took a rough hit today (The major loss is all but the last installment of the original 4 .hack games), I got my bank account back in the black, where it belongs. So, I'm doing better now :3

[NejinOniwa]

I am no expert on British healthcare policy, Red. I am, however, fairly certain that common sense would dictate a much higher standard of common institutionalized healthcare system in a kingdom where the Social Democrats have been almost constantly in power for the last century, whereas in britain the tories and labour have been switching places quite evenly, with the tories having the most of the last 50 years safely in bucket (and David Cameron, the current PM, is a tory). Assumption, maybe, but I would think it'd be safe to say that the Swedish welfare system is more built-up than the British.

We definitely need less nationalistic debates on this forum, lol >_>

[Bella]

WE ARE OVERRUN WITH FOREIGNERS. Hell, Södertälje county (and it's not that big - ~50k people or so, or so it was 10 years ago) has received more refugees from the Iraqi crisis than ALL OF THE US. >_>

How do you guys feel about American "refugees"? : p

[IanDanKilmaster]

We definitely need less nationalistic debates on this forum, lol >_>

Yeah, if we could just go ahead with less nationalism in general... that'd be great.

It's probably best if we avoid discussing which country has the best healthcare system as it may only lead to more flag-waving - I'm sure we've all had our fill of that.  On topic, my own gf has been talking about moving north all day.

[Bella]

I don't mind nationalism (as in, being proud of one's country - actually, I'd prefer that, since it's annoying to hear people talk about just hooooow baaaaad their country is when it's still wealthier and freer than a majority of the world's nations) but once any hint of "my country is better than your country" surfaces I get annoyed. (Same with any other My X is better than your Y discussion - be it on religion, operating systems or favorite characters). -w-;;;

As for moving to Canada, the only places I'd even consider are the Maritime Provinces (since they're basically New England North) or maybe southern Quebec, just on account of it being "near" my current home. Less culture shock = better. : /

[Krizonar]

I think we'd all much prefer self-governance in this regard than the potential banning of all even remotely political discussion, right guys?

Actually, no, I think that'd be great since it's always, always the same people. Just my opinion though.

[IanDanKilmaster]

I don't mind nationalism (as in, being proud of one's country - actually, I'd prefer that, since it's annoying to hear people talk about just hooooow baaaaad their country is when it's still wealthier and freer than a majority of the world's nations) but once any hint of "my country is better than your country" surfaces I get annoyed. (Same with any other My X is better than your Y discussion - be it on religion, operating systems or favorite characters). -w-;;;

Good luck finding anyone who can separate the two.  I mean, really, for the most part, pride in one's country and said country's comparative greatness goes hand-in-hand.  Same goes for a lot of things, but most prominent when discussing nationalism.

As for moving to Canada, the only places I'd even consider are the Maritime Provinces (since they're basically New England North) or maybe southern Quebec, just on account of it being "near" my current home. Less culture shock = better. : /

For us, it's not simply the system of government or location (especially not the latter, since we'd be FAAAAARRRR from home), but the cooler temperature, we both much prefer cooler weather.

[Nichi]

@Dan: I'd love to move north as well, since I also prefer colder weather. Also, from talking with Kari, it seems like I'd fit in more with the people in the general area of Boston, anyway

[Bella]

I don't mind nationalism (as in, being proud of one's country - actually, I'd prefer that, since it's annoying to hear people talk about just hooooow baaaaad their country is when it's still wealthier and freer than a majority of the world's nations) but once any hint of "my country is better than your country" surfaces I get annoyed. (Same with any other My X is better than your Y discussion - be it on religion, operating systems or favorite characters). -w-;;;

Good luck finding anyone who can separate the two.  I mean, really, for the most part, pride in one's country and said country's comparative greatness goes hand-in-hand.  Same goes for a lot of things, but most prominent when discussing nationalism.

Maybe for some people, but I'm certainly not that way - I'm extremely proud of the US for the good things that its government and citizens have accomplished, while still recognizing that the government and/or citizens have also committed atrocities ... which pretty much goes for every country (to one extent or another). At the same time, however, I would NEVER assert that the US is better than any other free, modernized society - since trying to compare countries (unless you're looking at a specific and calculable criteria, like the quality of education or health-care) is by its very nature a subjective endeavor.

It's like saying "CHOCOLATE IS THE BEST FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM!" It might be the best flavor to YOUR taste buds, but for some people it might be too weak or too strong. Some people are going to think vanilla or strawberry or lemon taste a whole lot better, and unless somebody is stepping into the ring obviously bullshitting by saying vomit-flavored ice cream is the best, it's safe to assume that everyone is correct.

I'm the same way in other respects too - I'm proud of my iMac and Snow Leopard, yet I know better than to assert that it's better than all PCs, or say that SL is better Windows or Ubuntu, unless it's a comparison of specific features (which OS is best at gaming or has the widest variety of programs? Windows. Which OS has the better security? Ubuntu or OSX. Which OS is best for "general use"? That's impossible to say). I'm incredibly proud of my artwork and how much progress I've made with writing, but I'll be damned if I say it's the "best" of anything.

TL;DR: Pride, to me, is being able to take satisfaction in the successes of something or someone you love. Pride should never be confused with arrogance or conceit, and shame on anybody who passes off their unfounded egotism or a need to declare themselves as better than others as "pride".

[NejinOniwa]

I've been thinking of moving to Luleå or Umeå and studying at the universities there (up on the 65th lat or so), but they don't have any physics candidate programmes there... :/

Swedish integration/immigration can be really strange for some, because it's a much larger culture shock than one would expect - especially since recently the influx of arabic immigrants have been so huge - but I'd say that most people encountering an american immigrant would be somewhat surprised, amused and fascinated by the fact that they'd chosen to hop up to our parts of the world and plot down there. In university cities like Lund, Uppsala or Umeå, though, the effect would be greeeatly less - there's a HUGE amount of transfers from abroad in our unis, so those people get quite used to it.

[Nichi]

@Bella: I agree with you on that. I mean, it pissed me off when I was younger how every boy in my age group liked to rub it in my face that they where better than me in every conceivable way, but then one day when I was a bit older, I woke up and thought to myself "Who cares what those kids think of me? I enjoy the way I'm living my life, and that's good enough for me"

[Chocofreak13]

why is it that when i spend the day cleaning i need to take notes on what's going on in the forum?

@nationalism: funny thing is, i'm actually one of the people here who's willing to say that my country isn't that great. that goes for both of them, too, though switzerland is a bit better than the us. (pentium, you meant i'm a citizen of switzerland. :3)
why am i willing to say this? because i've traveled outside the country. because i don't ignore hard facts. because rabid people creep me out, regardless of what they're rabid about.
the US has a lot of strengths. but at the same time, it has a hell of a lot of flaws, too. i'm likely the first person to point that out (besides red).

@bella: if you're seriously considering applying for dual citzenship, you're going to have to get some things out of the way:
1. i checked, and canada DOES support dual-citizenship. however, you're going to have to do some reasearch to see what might qualify for this. this could be anything from marrying a citizen of that country to living there for a few years, or something else. for example, i'm a swiss citizen because my father was born there. it's passed down to the spouse and the children, as well as the childrens' spouse (but not their children).

2. after checking this requirement, you may want to spend some time living in said country, even if this isn't a requirement. vacation visas can last 6 months or sometimes even more, so you can go for an extended vacation and see how you like it.

3. begin the paperwork. this might be the trickiest of the process, since you have no ties to canada (as far as i know) other than living in the vicinity.

also, unless you're FLUENT in french, i'd rethink moving to quebec. the official language there is french, meaning all street signs and tv is gonna be in french, and they have a tendency to look down upon those who don't speak it. you can think of it as like the paris of the west, fancy, french, and snotty.

if i were you, i'd go for new brunswick. i have family there, and i've been there twice. it's a beautiful province, and the capital has quite a bit to offer. plus, it's the only province in the country with both english AND french as official languages.

also, if you're thinking of a move to sweden, they also do dual-citizenship. plus, the one time i've been there, i never wanted to leave. the country is clean, beautiful, and its citizens friendly as hell. (they laughed at me when i stepped in the water trap at mini golf, but i don't think they meant it maliciously. ^^; ) english is a national language, the educational system and health care system rock, and their economy is solid. plus, their government is fair. overall, it could be considered one of the greatest countries in the world.

plus, it has more moose than people! and tons of trees! and a state where it's required to carry a gun! and a nejin! >:3


@nationalism2: i vote we do this: whenever we're about to rant about how our country is better, we replace "country" with "religion" and see if we're still comfortable with it. :\

@kriz: i'm inclined to agree, but that would ban political discussion between rational people like you and me. besides, those same people will just fight about other things if we take the politics away. :[

@pentium: you totally would fit in better here. though i should note that alot of the regional chains are different. for instance, i believe they have golden corral down there, while here there's only one golden corral in the entire new england area.

other than that, you'll be alright if you can adjust to the weather. :3 (that's the tough part. :\ )

@nej: if this country SERIOUSLY fucks up, expect me at your doorstep saying "yo".

[Nichi]

@Kari: Every Golden Corral within a roughly 50-mile radius of Palestine shut down ages ago, so that restaurant alone is not that big of a deal to me

[Krizonar]

@Kari: Every Golden Corral within a roughly 50-mile radius of Palestine shut down ages ago, so that restaurant alone is not that big of a deal to me

We got plenty of em here.
Ryan's 2.0.

Also, now would be a great time to admit I'm a citizen of Canada.