Singapore & US life cost comparison

[JR8]

Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, WW2 etc etc etc. I mean why the hell to the American forces have bases in germany, luxembourg, france, india, vietnam, (pick other any SE Asia country). Get your soldiers the hell out of my country man.

Facepalm/[slooooow-bliiiink]

Is this for real?

The first four, were about preserving liberty vs political extremism.

The American, nay allied presence in Germany was (IIRC) a part of of post-WW2 settlement.

When have Americans been in Luxembourg? Or France, apart from to get the bloody Germans out in WW2. Or India!?

Your post seems like blind and un-informed prejudice to me.

[vink2]

zzm9980, what about religion in US. Why did they put 'In GOD we trust' on a dollar and pray every time before Congress session, but at the same time adopt gay marriage which contradicts with Christian values?

How many Christians are there? Is it just a habit to be Christian?
Do they think they respect Christians adopting these bills?
Do Christians try to defend their human rights?

[x9200]

Actually, what alittlerisky says is pretty typical of what many Singaporeans (and other locals) think. Maybe even majority of them. I had way too many conversations of this sort with the cabbies after they had realized I am neither American nor British. Also all these t-shirts and other gadgets in Malaysia directly after 9/11... But I don't think it is religion or race driven. The people I talked about this were mostly Chinese.

[zzm9980]

No other other country has consistently invaded other countries apart from the US.

Here you are being ignorant again.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/13019/th ... 9t-invaded

Of the almost 200 current member states (and one observer state) of the United Nations, the British have, at some point in history, invaded and established a military presence in 171 of them.

And I'm not trying to pick on the British, but I do find the article funny. Also, pretty sure from a previous post alittlerisky is either British or caucasian South African, which is close enough and should be the last person talking about oppression.

[zzm9980]

zzm9980, what about religion in US. Why did they put 'In GOD we trust' on a dollar and pray every time before Congress session, but at the same time adopt gay marriage which contradicts with Christian values?

How many Christians are there? Is it just a habit to be Christian?
Do they think they respect Christians adopting these bills?
Do Christians try to defend their human rights?

I don't know, I wasn't part of the constitutional convention 230+ years ago that helped draft the constitution, nor later congressional sessions where the decision to add "In God We Trust" to currency was made. So I can't rectify the contradictions there, sorry.

I'm not the census bureau, and even if I was, they don't ask questions about religion in the US. So no idea how many Christians there are.

I'm not a Christian, so I can't comment on their habits.

Who are "they" and what "bills" are "Christians" adopting? The US has a strict segregation of church and state. So while openly religious congressional members may adopt a stance (and the cynic in me says that most of them would become openly gay themselves if they thought it would be a boost in the polls), no religion has any official standing in the US.

As explained above, I'm not qualified to answer this question about "defending their human rights" even if it wasn't open ended and stupid. You have an obvious ignorant anti American/Christian agenda now with these questions, so I'm done unless you come back with less loaded questions. Spend a little time, and you'll find that not all Christians (or muslims, or jews, or any other group) are all alike, and you can't paint "them" in such broad swathes of the same color. Some probably support gay rights, some are likely opposed, some are probably gay themselves, in any religious, ethnic, or cultural group. Grow up.

[x9200]

Zzm9980, please, lets not take it to the level of invectives.

Moderator

[zzm9980]

For example, I'm Polish and Italian. And around other Italian-Americans, I make sure to specify Sicilian. If you said American, someone would probably slap you for being a smart ass.

It's interesting. Do you think this is genetic snobbery, or is it the reverse, seeking commonalities i.e. 'bonding'. It is ironic in a way that immigrants tend to celebrate and take pride in the culture of the place they chose to leave, more than those who remain back-home, who I suppose could be described as culturally complacent.

I'm reminded of one of the 12-odd Board execs at the bank I worked on Wall Street. I never saw the inside of his office but apparently it was decked out like a full-on leprechauns grotto!

Commonality and bonding, along with pride in their cultural. I grew up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood, so I'm very used to people like this guy. The Italian, Polish, German, Greek, and other neighborhoods were just the same though.

Everyone in the US likes to make fun of the French though.

The French take themselves way too seriously for their own good, so it is only fair that they get brought down a peg or two. I'm glad to see that we have another thing in common with our 'Merican cousins in facilitating this

Freedom fries. 'Merica, f-ck yeah!"

[zzm9980]

Zzm9980, please, lets not take it to the level of invectives.

Moderator

Post edited for what I think you were referring to. Sorry

[the lynx]

Now, if you only get 14 days leave a year (which seemed typical at the time I lived there) how much time would you wish to spend traveling yet further afield on holiday?

I thought it was a barbaric 10 days (2 weeks but we're talking the same thing).

Is this a bare minimum by law or just universally accepted?

For Singapore's MOM, yes, bare minimum.

[zzm9980]

Now, if you only get 14 days leave a year (which seemed typical at the time I lived there) how much time would you wish to spend traveling yet further afield on holiday?

I thought it was a barbaric 10 days (2 weeks but we're talking the same thing).

Is this a bare minimum by law or just universally accepted?

US has no federal law about this. Many states do though. The only US law is that you *must* be paid out of accrued vacation time you did not use when you end your employment. This is why many US companies pay sick and vacation separately, and/or have forced shutdowns where you must use vacation time.

[vink2]

zzm9980, why americans always smile? do they think it will bring more money? as European (where we don't smile so often), I see that they have different face muscles ... as a result of smiling too often.

[zzm9980]

zzm9980, why americans always smile? do they think it will bring more money? as European (where we don't smile so often), I see that they have different face muscles ... as a result of smiling too often.

Our lives aren't as miserable as yours? Really your questions are stupid now.

[the lynx]

zzm9980, why americans always smile? do they think it will bring more money? as European (where we don't smile so often), I see that they have different face muscles ... as a result of smiling too often.

[alittlerisky]

Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, WW2 etc etc etc. I mean why the hell to the American forces have bases in germany, luxembourg, france, india, vietnam, (pick other any SE Asia country). Get your soldiers the hell out of my country man.

Facepalm/[slooooow-bliiiink]

Is this for real?

The first four, were about preserving liberty

The American, nay allied presence in Germany was (IIRC) a part of of post-WW2 settlement.

When have Americans been in Luxembourg? Or France, apart from to get the bloody Germans out in WW2. Or India!?

Your post seems like blind and un-informed prejudice to me.

Look, I have lived or travelled to all these countries. I was born in India, and used to go to the American military base to get coca-cola when I was a kid (Pepsi Lehar doesn't taste so good), I grew up in Luxembourg and was an American Boy Scout (Eagle), my scoutmaster was a colonel in the US Army in Luxembourg. I know US soldiers based in Paris when I worked there. I've freelanced for the CIA doing software development, so I do know yanks. I've even worked in NYC. My last girlfriend was Vietnamese, and she didn't particularly like yanks.

The british may have invaded and colonised a fair few countries, but ultimately dismantled their empire in a fairly peaceful and organised manner, apart from a few screw ups in Pakistan (I've lived there too, my brother was born there) and Afghanistan (I've lived there too, my father used to run guns from New Delhi to Kandahar for the Mujahadeen to fight the Russians), like the Kyber pass major screw up. Who the hell appointed the Yanks as guardians of liberty anyway?? For a so-called democracy, they seem to do what the f**k they want without asking people if they want it done.

You can't really call me blind or prejudiced mate. Been there, seen it, married the girl, bought the t-shirt.

[alittlerisky]

And....

My Irish grandfather was the Irish ambassabor to India. My Indian grandmother was the first female member of the Indian Parliament. My father was head of the European Union diplomatic delegation to India (when he retired from gun running for the Mujahadeen), my indian grandfather was assinated for his political activities/beliefs (basically "why can't we just all get along guys"), strangely on the day I lost my virginity. Some dude with an AK47 shot him in the back at a political meeting. His brother was shot a few weeks later on his front doorstep, his second brother stabbed to death a few months after. My uncles (grandads children) have permanent armed guards around them. I can't even go back to India (Nagaland) in case some guy decides kill me. Nor can my brother or mother, or my kids.

So I do what the f**k I'm talking about.