Plus, war is a lucrative time for countries
Okay, this concept needs to die. There are criteria for this.
1) You need to be in total war. You need to have a lack of weapons, so you'd have to make more, thereby spurring the economy
2) It would be good if the war wasn't on your own front, that would suck.
Once those are met, it probably would make sense.
Communism itself isn't bad, the ideal is wonderful
but it IS BAD. The fact that it is an amazing ideal that has proven itself, time and time again, to corrupt leaders/humans into ruining countries makes it, as an experimental idea, a bad thing.
i mean, the idea of a utopia is great too. Everyone's rich and being a boss.
If we tried to instill that as an economic system, we'd all be screwed.
Canada was settled by the french. That explains everything
True! First the French! <-- Haven't done too hot in any solo-effort war since... can't remember.
what about Ghadaffi? (did i spell that right?)
and now is it Syria that started sniping their own people the other day?
Yeah... they're having a revolution in their own country.
Ghadaffi is a bad ruler, Syria just wants to be more democratic. Let them work it out.
last time we didn't do anything we had a harbor down in Hawaii bombed.
Actually, we had an embargo on japan that hurt them a lot, causing a lot more aggression. And although we lost our navy, our lack of starting a war in Japan allowed us to take down Germany with better ease.
why is it again that your relatives don't like us?
Two things, really.
1) Economic imperialism. The USA has corrupted many governments. Look at Nicaragua in the Reagan era, and look at Pakistan now. We've funneled a lot of money in there, and, magically, the nation is still our ally and hasn't done anything against our drone attacks or obama raid in the area. Also, many American corporations control foreign land/resources, and use it to influence other nations.
That, and they have a notion that America is very islamophobic, which I see as a truth sometimes.
do they charge exorbitant rates?
In some things, yes. An example in Pakistan, is that neither Asian or American corporations will invest in creating factories/car plants in Pakistan, due to America's foreign policy of wanting to control other nations. It's a good bargaining chip. Most cars there have an insane duty on them due to their being imported, making you're average 2011 Toyota Camery actually cost more there - in a nation that is already flooded with poor people and a doctor that makes 200k+ here would make around 55k+ there [when converted from their currency] -- so, to buy the same car, with the same job, they're taking a fat, fat hit.
or is it just that they fly red white and blue outside their establishment ? (honest question.)
No idea, I should ask what they think about if America is arrogant and stuff.
.and I can't help it they were the smartest with their money and ended up on top of their industry.
Not all of them were extremely smart. Some were very rich.
Also, people can't ask big business to stop making profits, THAT is stupid. We can ask our government to level the playing field, seeing as a bunch of hoarded money in banks of the rich is bad economics. That's the game here. Economics is usually based in favor of the middle-class, because, that is where a nation pulls it's $$ from.
Selling arms in this case would not be the smartest thing...
Old armaments are great to sell. They get gernades, and we still have big bombs to throw. It's like... offering a guy an axe, but then still keeping him in line with a gatling gun. -- but i understand where you're coming from, it has to be restricted and thought out. After all, the taliban are enjoying our weapons they got in the '70s when we supported them against Russia.
The War of 1812 is a perfect example.
Right, a 200 year old war at a time when Canada wasn't even a nation.
But really. It's a completely different country. It has a 10x smaller military [not actual figure], an extremely small amount of people, not enough capital to tap it's oil reserves, -- it has it's own benefits and such, but of course they're going to be more peaceful. It's not a fair comparison. Do... Canada and Switzerland or something.
Also, as for the 'lone citizen' picture -- as beautifully symbolic as it may be -- that event was marked by student protesters getting eradicated by their own military.