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Because they don't know the details. Legolas Send a noteboard - 22/08/2010 04:57:32 PM
When many Americans don't really know what this whole health care thing is about, it's not exactly shocking that foreigners know still less about it and merely have heard something vague about America moving in the right direction (which, I agree, is debatable, but the amount of uninsured is supposed to drop by a significant number at least, we'll see if that actually happens).

At the risk of hijacking your thread (so let me take a leaf from your book and announce beforehand I'll refuse to engage in discussion on the topic :P ), there was an article on our newspaper's website just today that illustrated how sometimes foreign media can be really, really off on American news. The article was about the comments made by Miss America Rima Fakih on the topic of the Ground Zero mosque. Literal translation of the opening paragraph:

"Miss USA Rima Fakih, a practicing Muslim, spoke out in a radio interview against president Barack Obama's plans of building a mosque at Ground Zero."

I kid you not. That's what it says. (And no, it's not Miss Fakih who is the clueless one, I checked the American reporting on the matter.) Of course it's not representative - must be a brain fart by some lower-ranking journalist, the professionals aren't quite that clueless - but I think the point is clear: people who rely exclusively on European news sources for their news about America will get an incomplete and sometimes seriously inaccurate view of things.
This message last edited by Legolas on 22/08/2010 at 05:14:32 PM
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Healthcare Question for RAFOlk Overseas: - 22/08/2010 04:28:58 PM 774 Views
We don't - 22/08/2010 04:31:38 PM 517 Views
This *NM* - 22/08/2010 04:58:15 PM 192 Views
'K, I may not like it, but at least I can understand it. - 22/08/2010 05:09:03 PM 498 Views
Ah, I can see that; thanks. - 22/08/2010 05:05:10 PM 532 Views
Because they don't know the details. - 22/08/2010 04:57:32 PM 519 Views
Re: Because they don't know the details. - 22/08/2010 05:00:34 PM 483 Views
That also makes a lot of sense. - 22/08/2010 05:07:31 PM 523 Views
I don't know that Europeans are all that objective, either. - 22/08/2010 05:20:09 PM 497 Views
Well, more objective about our politicians than we are, I think. - 22/08/2010 05:44:51 PM 520 Views
I think that what he is trying to say is that you're just wrong there. - 22/08/2010 07:45:07 PM 479 Views
There's always going to be a certain amount of spin. - 22/08/2010 08:20:54 PM 491 Views
It's a weird assumption. - 22/08/2010 09:00:01 PM 591 Views
Re: It's a weird assumption. - 22/08/2010 09:11:25 PM 537 Views
except in issues regarding whales, whale issues, whaling, or whale meat. *NM* - 23/08/2010 04:24:10 PM 226 Views
Yes *NM* - 23/08/2010 04:26:00 PM 179 Views
do you believe the reverse is true? - 22/08/2010 07:49:07 PM 529 Views
I think so, honestly, but maybe I'm being naive. - 22/08/2010 08:16:12 PM 487 Views
could be simply becuase they don't matter as much outside the few biggies - 22/08/2010 09:43:01 PM 506 Views
Re: could be simply becuase they don't matter as much outside the few biggies - 23/08/2010 04:27:52 PM 465 Views
Really? An Elephant? - 23/08/2010 04:44:55 PM 551 Views
I think if I suggested that I would have been shot *NM* - 23/08/2010 04:47:24 PM 175 Views
Well, hopefully you at least got a laugh out of it. - 23/08/2010 04:50:40 PM 469 Views
I did *NM* - 23/08/2010 04:52:22 PM 200 Views
Good. Remember me when I'm gone. - 23/08/2010 04:54:12 PM 464 Views
Re: Good. Remember me when I'm gone. - 23/08/2010 04:56:28 PM 455 Views
thank you for reminding us why the jack ass is the symbol for the democratic party - 23/08/2010 05:19:35 PM 578 Views
Whoever told you I was a Democrat, Random? - 23/08/2010 05:21:26 PM 482 Views
I guess that makes us both wrong then - 23/08/2010 05:25:05 PM 426 Views
lol - 22/08/2010 06:30:52 PM 496 Views
I thought that the idea he had was good - 22/08/2010 11:36:53 PM 466 Views

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