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TStael: English in USA has never been a hegemony, because USA is not a national state as such. German came very close at the original vote, and so might have French, had they not had anti-Huguenot policies in place in the colonies.
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SJThreepwood: Most Americans were of British descent at the time of the revolution. Subsequently, English has always been the dominant language.

It wasn't the only language spoken -- but it was seen as the most important.

"The original vote" that you mention is actually a myth:

German Language Myth
German Language Myth
okei ... to be considered as the language in which documentation would be issued - German that is.

But then again, I think "dominant" here means similar as to what has passed in the British Isles with the Celtic languages; until the very recent times when promotion and revival is being attempted - hopefully successful, but who knows.

I do not think this type of domination is anything to be proud of; nor do I think the USA is impaired in any way if "America the Beautiful" is sung in native; or any other language for that matter.
Almost every day is one of them but the last few days is a classic reason of why. I have been perusing the main thread and many of the subthreads on the big news from this weekend, and as I feared, it appears most of the smart assed, mean spirited, one liners aimed at those who have been complaining about regional pricing comes from........

wait for it....

posters with that little thing under their name that says "United States."

And isn't if funny how regional pricing doesn't affect those in the United States.

Most USians, caring only about themselves.... same as it ever was.

It's why consumers have fewer rights in the US than most anywhere else in the developed world, it's why workers have it worse than most anyone else in the developed world, and it's why every citizen can't count on the government doing it's basic function and providing the things they do in most of the rest of the civilized world (like health care, one big example.)

Because not giving one little shit about how your actions affect others is a trademark USian trait. And the powers that be in this country spend billions and billions in ensuring that trademark continues, because divided citizens/workers/consumers are the most easily fleeced and any attempts at bettering their lot is easily defeated.

So fucking sad.
Post edited February 24, 2014 by OldFatGuy
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OldFatGuy: It's why consumers have fewer rights in the US than most anywhere else in the developed world, it's why workers have it worse than most anyone else in the developed world, and it's why every citizen can't count on the government doing it's basic function and providing the things they do in most of the rest of the civilized world (like health care, one big example.)

Because not giving one little shit about how your actions affect others is a trademark USian trait. And the powers that be in this country spend billions and billions in ensuring that trademark continues, because divided citizens/workers/consumers are the most easily fleeced and any attempts at bettering their lot is easily defeated.

So fucking sad.
Yeah, that's the myth of the Rugged Indiviualist for you. "If everyone only thinks after himself, everbody is thought after".

In Germany they try, little by little, but steadily to dismantle the achievements that we have, be it social security, affordable medical care or retirement arrangements. The state slowly pulls out of that, and what is taken away is sold to the sharks of the big money insurance companies. They already pulled out of critical infrastructure like public transportation, energy and drinking water by large with the consequences of rising prices and worse service.
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OldFatGuy: It's why consumers have fewer rights in the US than most anywhere else in the developed world, it's why workers have it worse than most anyone else in the developed world, and it's why every citizen can't count on the government doing it's basic function and providing the things they do in most of the rest of the civilized world (like health care, one big example.)

Because not giving one little shit about how your actions affect others is a trademark USian trait. And the powers that be in this country spend billions and billions in ensuring that trademark continues, because divided citizens/workers/consumers are the most easily fleeced and any attempts at bettering their lot is easily defeated.

So fucking sad.
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toxicTom: Yeah, that's the myth of the Rugged Indiviualist for you. "If everyone only thinks after himself, everbody is thought after".

In Germany they try, little by little, but steadily to dismantle the achievements that we have, be it social security, affordable medical care or retirement arrangements. The state slowly pulls out of that, and what is taken away is sold to the sharks of the big money insurance companies. They already pulled out of critical infrastructure like public transportation, energy and drinking water by large with the consequences of rising prices and worse service.
watch out, in the near future a 2 day hospital visit will ruin you financially...
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OldFatGuy: Almost every day is one of them but the last few days is a classic reason of why. I have been perusing the main thread and many of the subthreads on the big news from this weekend, and as I feared, it appears most of the smart assed, mean spirited, one liners aimed at those who have been complaining about regional pricing comes from........

wait for it....

posters with that little thing under their name that says "United States."

And isn't if funny how regional pricing doesn't affect those in the United States.

Most USians, caring only about themselves.... same as it ever was.

It's why consumers have fewer rights in the US than most anywhere else in the developed world, it's why workers have it worse than most anyone else in the developed world, and it's why every citizen can't count on the government doing it's basic function and providing the things they do in most of the rest of the civilized world (like health care, one big example.)

Because not giving one little shit about how your actions affect others is a trademark USian trait. And the powers that be in this country spend billions and billions in ensuring that trademark continues, because divided citizens/workers/consumers are the most easily fleeced and any attempts at bettering their lot is easily defeated.

So fucking sad.
I guess it's a persisting cold war remnant. If a person promotes more social equality and unification of society with healthcare and education available for everyone, then the person is labeled "communist", the great enemy of the progressive western world.
All of this patriotic and language nonsense aside, I find it really funny how Coke, just like many other bad companies never sells the product by using the product

instead it markets its product ALWAYS by some hippie/cool/tryhard/"progressive" whatever the hell nonsense to "try and build an image"

Isn't it funny how easily you can tell apart a good company from a bad one?
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Roman5: All of this patriotic and language nonsense aside, I find it really funny how Coke, just like many other bad companies never sells the product by using the product

instead it markets its product ALWAYS by some hippie/cool/tryhard/"progressive" whatever the hell nonsense to "try and build an image"

Isn't it funny how easily you can tell apart a good company from a bad one?
Coke is a bad company???? Say what???
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Roman5: All of this patriotic and language nonsense aside, I find it really funny how Coke, just like many other bad companies never sells the product by using the product

instead it markets its product ALWAYS by some hippie/cool/tryhard/"progressive" whatever the hell nonsense to "try and build an image"

Isn't it funny how easily you can tell apart a good company from a bad one?
Eh Pepsi is better than Coca Cola.

Coca Cola makes me feel sick sometimes especially drinking one from McDonalds. What do you expect from a drink that when it first appered they actually put Coccain inside the drink back in the 1930s :P

All Hail Pepsi, the much better and sweeter tasting soda \m/
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Elmofongo: Coca Cola makes me feel sick sometimes especially drinking one from McDonalds. What do you expect from a drink that when it first appered they actually put Coccain inside the drink back in the 1930s :P
Coca, not cocaine.

Coca leaves used for the pre-cocacola "vin mariani" were the rage, but were (and are) also used in a lot of native south-american, for ritualistic, or recreational, or medicamental concemption, mostly chewing. The fact that these plants, when treated in industrial quantities and with certain chemicals (acids, etc) can be used to extract what cocaine is made of, has nothing to do with the traditional usage of coca in those societies, nor with its european consumption when it was fashionable.

It's actually a huge issue now, not only because of the drug industries (mass plantations, circulation, cartels and related slave-like usage of workforce for the extraction and fabrication of cocaine) being dirtectly devastating in the areas where coca was grown and used, but also because traditional culture and usage of coca is a collateral damage of the war against cocaine - both through indiscriminale laws and general confusion of representations.

So, no, peruvian cultures were not cacainomaniac, despite of their heavy usage of coca chewing and infusions. Keeping coca and cocaine as separate elements is quite important.

(Plus, this has nothing to do, nowadays, with pepsi and coca-cola being different on not. And I have yet to see super-opinionated "coca vs pepsi" people succeed at a blind test, outside of commercial videos. But, that's another issue, much more futile than coca politics and indigeneous rights...)
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Telika: (Plus, this has nothing to do, nowadays, with pepsi and coca-cola being different on not. And I have yet to see super-opinionated "coca vs pepsi" people succeed at a blind test, outside of commercial videos. But, that's another issue, much more futile than coca politics and indigeneous rights...)
As a recovering Coke-Aholic, I always found those commercials unbelievable. What idiot can't tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke? Maybe someone that drank RC or 7up, but not a Pepsi or Coke drinker.

As for Coca in Coca-Cola, they still use a Coca Leaf extract for the product. Of course, that is not the same as Cocaine and it is Cocaine Free.
Post edited February 24, 2014 by jjsimp
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toxicTom: Yeah, that's the myth of the Rugged Indiviualist for you. "If everyone only thinks after himself, everbody is thought after".

In Germany they try, little by little, but steadily to dismantle the achievements that we have, be it social security, affordable medical care or retirement arrangements. The state slowly pulls out of that, and what is taken away is sold to the sharks of the big money insurance companies. They already pulled out of critical infrastructure like public transportation, energy and drinking water by large with the consequences of rising prices and worse service.
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Soccorro: watch out, in the near future a 2 day hospital visit will ruin you financially...
No kidding. I had a 3 day stay in the hospital a few years ago, and without insurance it would have been about $15k.
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Soccorro: watch out, in the near future a 2 day hospital visit will ruin you financially...
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hedwards: No kidding. I had a 3 day stay in the hospital a few years ago, and without insurance it would have been about $15k.
now just imagine you had a surgery. id try to get out of there as soon as possible, no matter how dangerous it is.
if you think criticism of that commercial is racist, you should go back to afghanistan
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rrr8891: if you think criticism of that commercial is racist, you should go back to afghanistan
And perhaps you should stay away from parts of the US where people actually know what racism is. The whole motivation there is xenophobic and racist in nature. Most of the comments don't even bother to hide the motivation.
nm,
Post edited February 25, 2014 by OldFatGuy