It's not your political system that takes away your freedom, it's your economic system.

Most nations political/state systems are based around capitalism. Hierarchical control in order for a minority class of private economic owners to exploit the majority, sucking all the wealth we create upwards.

Change the economic system and the state will also change.

Wow, there's alot of anger developing here.
i used to hate all the US bashing threads as i have family over there and thread comments were being rude and wrong.
But the arrogance and anger from some of you guys lately is unreal, i get you guys have had some bad crap to deal with lately but we are NOT the enemy.

Peace

Britain sits like a burnt our cinder, atop the european continent, its tiny islands like a hat to the continent beneath it.
Bereft of natural resources, nearly depleted of NorthSea oil, it strugglkes desperately to maintain its worldly influence through alliance with the USA and the other NATO countries....
if it were not for the City Of London, a square mile of land that sits like the Vatican in the surrounding city...a state witin a state....and the immense Royal wealth.....
The british influence on the world stage would equal that of Norway or denmark.

Originally posted by boymonkey74
Which rant?

I meant the OP, I wasn't quite awake yet when I wrote that.

Anyhow forgot my original point now cos I'm drunk.

You're drunk I'm half asleep (half awake?), I don't think there was a point.

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

2nd.

Originally posted by tommo2522
i am a brit myself , born and bred Yorkshire lad , its a good thing that people have ideas about us it means were worth thinking about. as far as the world goes , we are number 1 , the history , the really crap humor that only we find funny , we have pretty much rocked it out since anyone can remember , all i will see is come live in the uk , and see what life is really like . and its not like i haven't seen the rest of the world as i was in the forces for 5 years . and if im honest the rest of the world isn't really worth much a thought

You haven't met new Zealand and for that, I accept your apologies.

Originally posted by Avgudar
Take the "chavs" for example. They act like proper Americans.

Lol what? Chavs act nothing like americans. in fact i'd go as far as saying you couldn't find a group of people in britain any less like americans than chavs and neds

please, explain to me, in what sense to chavs act like Americans? every American should be deeply offended by your statement

Originally posted by ararisq
You started it and we imported it. We have as many cameras as London now. It is the beginnings of an Orwellian state.

I hear this a lot from Americans and I've tried countering it a few times, but it seems denying ignorance is harder than I thought. The overwhelming majority of CCTV is related to private and/or commercial interests: shops, private homes, shopping centres and so on. Even much of what people think is public space is actually 'private space', so it's not surprising there are cameras 'out in the open' too.

I'm fairly sure there'd be a glut of ill-informed posts from Americans as to how honest, hard-working, business owners weren't allowed to protect their property if there weren't cameras in shops and so on.

Originally posted by defuntion
Why is it so important that you hang on to your "Scottish" identity?

And yet I ask this of many Americans who describe themselves as being Irish Americans and so on, particularly from Americans who've never been to Ireland or Scotland (and neither did their parents &c).

You know how Canada, the USA and Mexico all share the same North American land-mass but are still Canada, the USA and Mexico? Britain is a bit like that. Also, it was known as Britain before there was a 'Scotland', 'Wales' or 'England' as we understand them now.

It's pretty cut and dry to the rest of the world. You have a royal family, they live off your money.....You are their subjects.

If it is so hateful to you then revolt and get rid of them like we did........it feels great.....or should I say until idiots over here started to change our country into one.

As much as some of the comments in here raise the temperature of my blood a degree or 2, I must say I am not proud to be British these days, or for quite sometime.

Britain has NOTHING to be proud of anymore, as someone said, this country is a smouldering ember of a once great, strong, awe-inspiring grand oak.

We were, not really so long ago, an industrial might matched by none, an empire larger than the world had ever seen, had innovation and drive that sparked and contributed to some of the most important and fundamental inventions of the 19th and 20th century.

Now?

We are a country with a government that's too large to sustain, rotten with corruption and "do gooders", crippled by our own ridiculous statutes, and priorities in so many of the wrong orders its ridiculous. We give priority to persons seeking asylum, immigrants and yet let our loyal old starve and die of cold in the winter.

A country whose benefits system REWARDS unemployment, alcoholism and laziness, while the ever burdened tax payer is squeezed out of every last penny to pay for the above, until the very companies they work hard for, are also crushed into submission by taxes and ever increasing legislation and operating costs.

Unemployed and no work, said taxpayer turns to the government that they have so long supported and paid into, only to be told that the pittance of savings they have spent years prudently putting aside, must all be used before any assistance can be given. Having used all available means of savings, taxpayer is then given a pittance per week and told that unfortunately the government doesn't provide relief for mortgage payments on that property that you spent so many years saving the deposit for, despite lazy Joe before him getting his rent paid on a property he doesn't even own, in full for the next month. Poor taxpayer ultimately has his home repossessed and has to wait in squalor while lazy Joe, immigrants and asylum seekers are pushed up the housing waiting list.

Before too long, taxpayer has lost all will to lead a decent life, doesn't bother to find a job, turns to alcohol and gets funded for all of the above while another hard working taxpayer takes his place on the road to demise.......British??? More like B*ll*x