Originally posted by Aree Laxyn
Good post! i dont really agree but this was anyway wrong.
"In 1492 Christopher Columbus found what is to be the new world" Snap out of it! Leif Eriksson clearly found the Indians land long b4 Chris did. This is proven.

True enough, but the Skraelings sent the norse colonizers packing in the aftermath of Thorfinn Karlsefni's last failed colonial attempt in, I think, 1010 AD. After that, it was a trading relationship with the Norsemen up until around 1360, and that seemed to have worked out to everyone's benefit for a while.

If they'd have been able to do that with the English, Spanish, French, et al after 1492, the world would be a vastly different place now. Not necessarily better, but no doubt different.

DAMN that gunpowder invention!

EDIT:
After rethinking it, I believe it was Thorfinn Karlsefni who dicovered the coast first, then went back and reported the find to Erik the Red, who told his son Lief about it, who then went to check it out.

The last failed colony was headed by Thorvald and his wife Freydis. Thorvald was killed by a Skraeling arrow in the attempt.

I still say DAMN that gunpowder invention!



[edit on 2009/10/20 by nenothtu]

Europeans are very aware of their dark history, and I guess most try learn out of it. Years of history classes on these themes, overload of weekly tv-documentaries on worldwars, conflicts and other historical errors, memories and stories of the older generation, a reluctance towards anything that smells like war or humanitarian injustice ... all of which emanates out of a fear to make the same old mistakes again: nobody wants to be in a situation where he has to state, as the germans did: 'wir haben es nicht gewusst' - it's unimaginable; nobody wants to see slavery, child labour, abuse, war, injustice ...

In a way, that attitude seems to be the perfect breeding ground for a more leftish, striving-to-tolerance point of view, which sometimes reflects in some more social oriëntated politics around here, which again gives a subtle difference in our perception of the world around us. Not better or worse, just slightly different - as it differs from person to person...

And still, things aren't running as they should, same mistakes are constantly been made over again, and in the meantime we keep on criticizing situations and keep bringing everything we think goes wrong under the attention. We criticize ourselves (Europe/local country) just as much as we criticize America or other regions/policies/leaders/....

An objective soul realises that the critics on America are as correct as the criticics towards our local situation, but two reasons why this might be taken out of perspective around here:

1) Because of its global position, America's influence is far more important on a global scale, and thus more interesting discussion material than, lets say, Belgian politics (although there's a lot to say about that as well)...
2) This forum has a significant tendency towards American oriëntated topics (and American users), which makes it obvious American actions/politics get analysed and criticized more often around here...

Either way, try welcome criticism in a constructive way - it's seldom a personal thing After all, we're all facing the same world..

Originally posted by nenothtu
WHERE'S THE STATUTE?

I have to give it to you..

You like your Statutes

Fair enough.... not illegal in the UN sense.

Just illegal in the human rights and basic human decency sense.

And just so you know.. attacking the US invasion of Iraq is not an attack on the US people.. just your foreign policy. There's a massive difference.

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Weird though...Eastern Europe = America for the most part..with some African and Asian tossed in for seasoning. I recommend everyone from both sides of the pond to travel to the other side and look around, you will find that besides some rather superficial things, its pretty much the same...be it culture, government nonsense, etc. Your right...neither are white hats or black hats and arguing about how one side is better than the other is like arguing if apples are red or green.

Now THAT'S a Fact! There are even places in Romania where the land itself looks like the part of America I grew up in!

And I agree, generalizations are a dangerous thing. I believe this thread got it's start in the first place as a result of overly generalized attacks from the other side of the pond directed against "Americans", which some, including myself, clearly took exception to.

Of course, in MY case, I probably had it coming, as I tend to represent the very things they rail against.

Perhaps unfortunately, I always will. They won't change my way of thinking by putting me under fire, either.

Europe is not a country. to act that it is in all of these posts is incorrect.

it is like calling mexicans, americans, brazilians , canadians, the same people with the same history.

plus going back 100 years in history and then saying that eupeons have a very bad past is not right.

you mush keep going back and back, hundreds of years. for every single country. every type of people, follow where they travelled in the world. and see what effect they had on the different regions.

if you are going to make this thread do it properly.

Originally posted by jam321

See, that's where your wrong. People like you hate us, not Europeans as a whole.

I don't hate or dislike or anything of the sort when it comes to Americans, that should be perfectly clear.. just the attitude of the one who wrote the original post that I was retaliating to.

If you want to see why I wrote that, check the post.. reverse the roles and you will understand. Nothing to do with the rest of ye even though I can see how it was excessively blunt and generalizing. My apologies to you

[edit on 20/10/09 by Dermo]

Originally posted by JFletcher

Originally posted by djusdjus

WE DON'T CARE. Just serve us when we travel to your shabby little towns and dirty crime infested cities. :-p

Well, I think no other country wants you, that's all. At least you learn a little bit of history, real history, older than 223 years.
Btw, let's travel to Iran. Let's see who's ass is gonna be kicked

I don't know which country you're from, but if you're British, you might want to re-think that. I hear Brits are getting lumped into the same basket with Americans , Israelis, and Pakistanis there after this most recent bombing.

That's what the Iranian PRESS says, anyhow. the people are a different matter. I think an American or Brit would be relatively safe there, among the people as opposed to the military and government folks. Not so much the Israelis and Paks.

Originally posted by Dermo

Don't be annoyed coz your empire is collapsing and everyone hates you

[edit on 20/10/09 by Dermo]

Explain that to all the people who still like us enough to keep pouring in.

Probably also explains where YOUR closest neighbors have disappeared to, and why they're a lot happier with their new neighbors.

Originally posted by centurion1211
Explain that to all the people who still like us enough to keep pouring in.

Like?

And that was directed towards that assface who annoyed me.. not the rest of you. Explained above.

Probably also explains where YOUR closest neighbors have disappeared to, and why they're a lot happier with their new neighbors.

Huh? Britain has disappeared somewhere?

We could only be so lucky

(That was a Joke before I have a load of Brits after me as well the Yanks)

Seriously though, you are going to have to explain that one.. Im stumped...

You are comparing what Europe did a long time ago with what the USA is doing today? A case of apples vs oranges, no?