Foreigners are fascinated with our politics. Why?

[Dr. Zhivodka]

What an incredibility odd idea for a thread...and quite a strange line of thought from a moderator no less.

Ivan, should "foreigners" not be interested in American politics? Should Americans not be interested in other foreign affairs both allies and foes alike? The Economist magazine does a fairly good business in this country and it's filled with foreign economics and politics. Do you find it odd that Americans subscribe to this periodical? Should they not?

BTW: This is the internet is it not? Our global coconut telegraph were we can be virtually anywhere at anytime. So what in your opinion is a "Foreigner," on the internet anyway?

Simple questions looking for simple answers. No tricks.

Quote from Ivanovich:

Lucrum made me wonder about this the other day when he and Gabfly were sparring in the most recent (you-suck-no-you-suck) thread in this forum. He mentioned Gabfly was Canadian, which I gather is true since Gabfly acknowledged and accepted it. His overall argument was essentially, why should you care so deeply about American politics, our President, etc., if you're not even living in America (though his words were a bit more uncivil)? I thought it was a rather good question.

So I went through to the most vocal critics of America, Republicans, Conservatives, etc., and I checked their IPs and did a rather extensive lookup. Of the 10 most vocal in the P+R forum, only TWO were definitely posting from the USA.

One was using a proxy, so it is impossible to tell without a lot of homework.
One was posting from India.
FIVE were posting from Canada.
One was posting from the U.K.

What shocked me is the number of Canadians, some of which are exceptionally vocal about the Teaparty, Conservatives, Republicans, and the US in general.

I am going to look up those conservatives who are vocally against Obama next. I won't post who is from where (for either side), because that's a private matter. But I'll be general about it like I was above.

I did find it interesting that so many non-Americans are here supporting the democrats. I admit to not understanding why that is.

If someone would explain it, I'd certainly be interested in hearing.

 

[unretired]

Quote from Ricter:

I was thinking there must be a lot of home-brew in that dry county.

I've ever only brewed mead, ever tried that? Easy stuff I think.

Mead is like a very heavy beer without the hops and takes on the character of sweetness and wine.


Never tried it ... I like hops too much and haven't the patience for long brews.

I can knock out a quality brew in 3 weeks.

3-4 months is about as long as I am willing to wait for that super full bodied brew.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from unretired:

Mead is like a very heavy beer without the hops and takes on the character of sweetness and wine.

Never tried it ... I like hops too much and haven't the patience for long brews.

I can knock out a quality brew in 3 weeks.

3-4 months is about as long as I am willing to wait for that super full bodied brew.

Mead does take quite a bit of time. But it doesn't have to be sweet, that depends on the yeast used of course. I like just a hint of honey though, it brings out my inner Viking, lol. Only thing I don't have is a mead horn.

 

[Ivanovich]

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:

What an incredibility odd idea for a thread...and quite a strange line of thought from a moderator no less.

Ivan, should "foreigners" not be interested in American politics? Should Americans not be interested in other foreign affairs both allies and foes alike? The Economist magazine does a fairly good business in this country and it's filled with foreign economics and politics. Do you find it odd that Americans subscribe to this periodical? Should they not?

BTW: This is the internet is it not? Our global coconut telegraph were we can be virtually anywhere at anytime. So what in your opinion is a "Foreigner," on the internet anyway?

Simple questions looking for simple answers. No tricks.

There are many odd threads here on this site. Surely you cannot possibly think this is the most odd! The fact that I am a moderator doesn't mean I can't have interesting or curious thoughts/ideas and post about them. I am human as much as any poster on here But that I am a moderator does leave me in a particularly unique position to research my idea.

Why would I find it odd that Americans subscribe to the Economist? I do, and it's filled with articles regarding the American economy, Obama, politics here and abroad. It's relevant to me. I do not, however, subscribe to "The Asian Times".

In this particular thread, a "foreigner" to me, was a "non-American". "Our" politics, being the US political system, as clarified in the original post.

Foreigners (again, meaning in this case, non-Americans) are certainly welcome on this board, and this site. I was just curious if there was any particular viewpoint that they possessed in regards to their American counterparts. If the ratio of American to non-American had been relatively equal in my very non-scientific study, I would have thought nothing of it. But noting that many of the more liberal/left wing posters tended to be from outside the United States, and more of the conservative/right wing posters tended to be from inside the country, was an observation I found interesting. Others seemed to find it interesting as well.

And now we're on the very, very interesting subject of beer brewing. I'm enjoying the read!

 

[phenomena]

Quote from Ricter:

I have in the past, more than once. I'm in Calgary.

Which is in Canada. You have said in the past that you are Canadian, now you've changed your mind and are American. Interesting.

 

[Dr. Zhivodka]

Do you not find this Clegg fellow in the U.K. interesting? Or the BJP in India? Or the muslin/christian violence in Malay? I mean c'mon...this is our world. And you don't subscribe to the Asian Times? You should.

I read the Gulf Times and The Straights Times and Australian Financial Review among many other things everyday. And occasionally I go on forums associated with them and tell them what I think. Do you think that is strange? I wonder if they collect my IP address and then post about?

Or would you now rather talk about beer?

Quote from Ivanovich:

There are many odd threads here on this site. Surely you cannot possibly think this is the most odd! The fact that I am a moderator doesn't mean I can't have interesting or curious thoughts/ideas and post about them. I am human as much as any poster on here But that I am a moderator does leave me in a particularly unique position to research my idea.

Why would I find it odd that Americans subscribe to the Economist? I do, and it's filled with articles regarding the American economy, Obama, politics here and abroad. It's relevant to me. I do not, however, subscribe to "The Asian Times".

In this particular thread, a "foreigner" to me, was a "non-American". "Our" politics, being the US political system, as clarified in the original post.

Foreigners (again, meaning in this case, non-Americans) are certainly welcome on this board, and this site. I was just curious if there was any particular viewpoint that they possessed in regards to their American counterparts. If the ratio of American to non-American had been relatively equal in my very non-scientific study, I would have thought nothing of it. But noting that many of the more liberal/left wing posters tended to be from outside the United States, and more of the conservative/right wing posters tended to be from inside the country, was an observation I found interesting. Others seemed to find it interesting as well.

And now we're on the very, very interesting subject of beer brewing. I'm enjoying the read!

 

[Ricter]

Quote from phenomena:

Which is in Canada. You have said in the past that you are Canadian, now you've changed your mind and are American. Interesting.

I have not said I'm Canadian. I merely have permanent resident status in Canada. At any rate, this is pointless, because you cannot prove anything I say, or anything you say for that matter, over the internet.

 

[Wallet]

Oklahoma the last bastion of conservatism.

 

[FeenixRizin]

Quote from Wallet:

Oklahoma the last bastion of conservatism.

you're not alone ....

there are plenty more like you.. why it is they cordially defer to the worthless is another question

 

[Ivanovich]

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:

Do you not find this Clegg fellow in the U.K. interesting? Or the BJP in India? Or the muslin/christian violence in Malay?

Marginally, I suppose. But not nearly enough to log on to some site related to that news and debate it. I read periodicals that are relevant to the trades I make because it's worth it to do so to be informed. I do not care to debate it.

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:


I read the Gulf Times and The Straights Times and Australian Financial Review among many other things everyday. And occasionally I go on forums associated with them and tell them what I think. Do you think that is strange? I wonder if they collect my IP address and then post about?

I wonder how many of them are as verbally violent as this P&R forum?

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:


Or would you now rather talk about beer?

I'm rather enjoying the beer discussion, yes.