That sort of happened with the first 13 States anyway. We used to be a loose Confederation in our early years until we got our current constitution. That's why we have such an awkward name (United States of America) "America" isn't actually the name of our country,it's the name of the entire western hemisphere.(North,Central,and South America) So Canada,Mexico,Chile,Brazil etc. are all in America.

Yeah I know America is the name of the continent. But you call yourselves Americans more often than not ;) Canadians are also Americans but they call themselves Canadians :) Didn't someone come up with the idea of calling yourselves USians? :1orglaugh Daft idea.
 
Oh yeah? It is real pricey there isn't it? You guys must love those foxy Polish girls though...they are fine. :)


Yoou got that right :hatsoff: although I dont think ive ever seen a Polish girl who doesnt have bleech blond hair :dunno: I dont know why that is maybe its some sort of national thing if one Polish girl sees a girl with bleech blonde hair with their roots showing they know its another Pole.

I got nothing against, Polish immigration, they are the reason we have had this growth over the last couple of years, and its the government and the owners of these businesses that have caused the recession.
 
I know a guy who owns about fifteen wagons (trucks, lorries, big-rigs, whatever you call them) and all his drivers are Polish. He won't employ British workers any more because they "won't show up on time, don't put in the hours and want to much money". There are over a million people on benefits in this country, most of them choosing not to work for their own reasons, not because they can't find jobs.

Anyhow, Plastique makes a good point about history playing a major part in modern British and European life, there was civilisation and political matters here five thousand years before the USA was even discovered, so from our point of view it's understandable that we are sometimes apathetic to US ideas or practices, as we have seen it all before.

It really is like a parent / child relationship, and you would think the best way for the child to learn is by making it's own mistakes, but unfortunately that sometimes annoys the neighbours, and some of the older ones can get very angry. :mad:
 
Milwall as a football club still do have a very bad reputation. Nowadays they lie in league 1 [the 3rd division down] and play in front of less than 10,000. I think their "bark is worse than their bite" nowadays.

The 70's and 80's was awful for football violence in England.Nowadays it's a problem in other countries moreso than England.

Off the topof my head, the Aston Villa "Zulu army" and Chelsea headhunters are still going, but they are all closely linked with far right political parties like the NF , BNP and combat 18 more than football.

My first post here, I had to jump in when I saw this- and this was back on page 4 or something, but the "Zulu Army" is NOTHING to do with Aston Villa (pride of the Midlands), It's Birmingham City (or the blouse, b-lose, the scum etc as we Villa fans like to call them)'s hooligan element. And most of these people are nothing to do with 'far-right groups' ...they just like to fight. Still happens here and there but it's very much the minority. I've actually never seen it at a game, and I've been going since 1993.
 
My first post here, I had to jump in when I saw this- and this was back on page 4 or something, but the "Zulu Army" is NOTHING to do with Aston Villa (pride of the Midlands), It's Birmingham City (or the blouse, b-lose, the scum etc as we Villa fans like to call them)'s hooligan element. And most of these people are nothing to do with 'far-right groups' ...they just like to fight. Still happens here and there but it's very much the minority. I've actually never seen it at a game, and I've been going since 1993.

Aaaaah right, i apologise. I thought it was the Villa.
 
As for your TV, some of my favourite programmes are US shows. House (although that does star the simply brilliant Hugh Laurie) and CSI being two of them. Your TV isn't all bad! I also love the NFL, and I'm itching to go back across there.

I hate most TV,it's impossible for me to watch any kind of fictional show(these days anyway).I dunno why. All I like to watch is "Penn and Teller:Bullshit!" and "Mythbusters".

And the NFL,oh dear fuckin god do I hate the NFL! You should really spare yourself from watching that corny shit!
 
RM or SAS?

I read that 66% of the SAS originate from Scotland - especially from Glasgow.
I thought the Royal Marines (RM) were known for their toughness, whereas the Special Air Service (SAS) were known for their close quarters (CQ) combat expertise?
I mean, in looking at the qualifications for a RM (much less RM officer) compared to the SAS, the RM seem to best them.
I'm not saying a RM is "better" than one with the SAS, just saying they're a different type of breed.

I'm biased, of course, almost an US Marine myself (father was, talked me out of ROTC) and a closet, wanna be RM.
 

Spleen

Banned?
Re: RM or SAS?

I thought the Royal Marines (RM) were known for their toughness, whereas the Special Air Service (SAS) were known for their close quarters (CQ) combat expertise?

CQ skills would be classed as toughness.

Marines are definitely hard as nails, but the SAS are tougher.
 
American Football ...

And the NFL,oh dear fuckin god do I hate the NFL! You should really spare yourself from watching that corny shit!
You do understand that some of us watch the NFL because we enjoy the strategy, not the alleged "toughness."
I've meet a great number of British nationals who enjoy the US sport because they get into the strategy.

If you compare American Football to Football (aka Soccer) or Rugby to the US sport on pure athleticism and aerobics, yes, it's quite laughable.
But if you look at the American sport as what it is, a stop-go-stop-go type of strategy setup and execution, it changes dramatically.

The US sport has undergone major, multi-decade changes in strategy.
Run, then pass, now back to run, now to spread, variations of pressure, then quick pass, etc...
Counter, counter-counter, counter-counter-counter.
It's far from pure athleticism, with many NFL stars being "overlooked" when they were younger, and some that came "late to the game."

Let alone the strategy that binds it all, one team, one fluid set of motions, sometimes only lasting 3 seconds, but making all the difference! ;)
 
But back to the point, we don't hate the US. We may critise but it is usually constructive; parents see their own failings in their children and you were our fledging "new world" that grew up and left home, so we try to pick fault to remind you of where you came from...the British womb. We just forgot that children grow up to become their own person, and we haven't let that go yet - to us, you will always be our baby boy/girl.

Well only the original 13 United States were former British colonies. The rest we just took ourselves really. ;)
 
American Football is as close to a chess match as you can get from a sport, and has some of the most varied people of different skill sets on one team. Plus it's not like other more popular sports that developed in other countries are the height of athleticism. Sure, out of them rugby is a decent sport...and that about it. Cricket, golf, and tennis don't belong being described as involving athleticism. Things like water polo and indoor volleyball aren't big enough to take seriously, and martial arts isn't really a conventional sport. Soccer is pretty much a bunch of skinny people running around all the time kicking a ball and flopping to the ground at the slightest touch. If I wanted to watch running endurance I would go to a marathon. I wouldn't be surprised if 98% of non-punters/kickers in the NFL would dominate soccer players in pretty much everything that didn't involve running long distances over time. Even half of the NFL punters could probably kick nearly all Soccer players asses in a fight.
 

ChefChiTown

The secret ingredient? MY BALLS
American Football is as close to a chess match as you can get from a sport, and has some of the most varied people of different skill sets on one team. Plus it's not like other more popular sports that developed in other countries are the height of athleticism. Sure, out of them rugby is a decent sport...and that about it. Cricket, golf, and tennis don't belong being described as involving athleticism. Things like water polo and indoor volleyball aren't big enough to take seriously, and martial arts isn't really a conventional sport. Soccer is pretty much a bunch of skinny people running around all the time kicking a ball and flopping to the ground at the slightest touch. If I wanted to watch running endurance I would go to a marathon. I wouldn't be surprised if 98% of non-punters/kickers in the NFL would dominate soccer players in pretty much everything that didn't involve running long distances over time. Even half of the NFL punters could probably kick nearly all Soccer players asses in a fight.

Again a post from person who really doesn't know anything about football (soccer). :rolleyes:

And why should they fight each other? :dunno:
 
Soccer is pretty much a bunch of skinny people running around all the time kicking a ball and flopping to the ground at the slightest touch. If I wanted to watch running endurance I would go to a marathon. I wouldn't be surprised if 98% of non-punters/kickers in the NFL would dominate soccer players in pretty much everything that didn't involve running long distances over time. Even half of the NFL punters could probably kick nearly all Soccer players asses in a fight.

I hate diving too,but it has nothing to do with being a "sissy" or anything. It's more about cheating,some players pretend to be fouled so their team can get a free kick or a penalty kick. Soccer seems to be the only sport where you can do something like this.
 
American Football is as close to a chess match as you can get from a sport, and has some of the most varied people of different skill sets on one team. Plus it's not like other more popular sports that developed in other countries are the height of athleticism. Sure, out of them rugby is a decent sport...and that about it. Cricket, golf, and tennis don't belong being described as involving athleticism. Things like water polo and indoor volleyball aren't big enough to take seriously, and martial arts isn't really a conventional sport. Soccer is pretty much a bunch of skinny people running around all the time kicking a ball and flopping to the ground at the slightest touch. If I wanted to watch running endurance I would go to a marathon. I wouldn't be surprised if 98% of non-punters/kickers in the NFL would dominate soccer players in pretty much everything that didn't involve running long distances over time. Even half of the NFL punters could probably kick nearly all Soccer players asses in a fight.

Actually,cricket is the nearest game to chess and is often described as such.It is the most complex game in existence, there are so many variables to take into account.You set traps, try to lure your opponent to his destruction,vary your attack and in longer games your decisions might be affected by what the weather has in store two or three days away.
As for athleticism , this takes many forms. A batsman who has to face hostile bowling for hours on end (the bowler is allowed to aim the ball at him) , a bowler or wicket keeper has to be active all day, not just a mere hour or two.
 
Re: RM or SAS?

I thought the Royal Marines (RM) were known for their toughness, whereas the Special Air Service (SAS) were known for their close quarters (CQ) combat expertise?
I mean, in looking at the qualifications for a RM (much less RM officer) compared to the SAS, the RM seem to best them.
I'm not saying a RM is "better" than one with the SAS, just saying they're a different type of breed.

I'm biased, of course, almost an US Marine myself (father was, talked me out of ROTC) and a closet, wanna be RM.

I would doubt that 66% of the SAS come from Scotland, there's many more English people in the British Army than from Scottish Regiments. They can't all be pussies :D But, from what I hear there's a higher proportion of Scots in 22 Reg than there should be.

I also don't think you can compare the Royal Marines to 22 Reg. The RM are tough, and hard fighters, but they're just commandos, and a different type of infantry unit. I wouldn't class them as Special Forces. Put it this way, the RM have a nice shiny website. 22 Reg don't!! :1orglaugh A better comparison would the the RM's SBS, and I couldn't pick a winner out of those two :fight:
 
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