Ask people from other countries 3

[Phlegmak]

Why not the US?

Because I'm from here, of course! I've already seen it and have no interest in it.

 

[REDY]

Do you have any videos (youtube, etc) of upper class twits from your country? I mean, actual upper class twits, not just actors. And not just upper class twits, but just upper class people who sound funny. My preference is British people, but anyone from any country is fine, except the US.

You should check this http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Home.aspx

 

[useless]

We have Boris Johnson.. though he's actually funny, although not intentionally.

 

[Phlegmak]

Doesn't Prince Charles say "Ear heer leer" when he says "Oh hello"? 'Twould be nice to hear and watch him saying that.

 

[Shekwan]

So Shekwan, did ya get drunk?

No actually. Where we were watching fireworks, there were cops and signs saying strictly no alcohol everywhere. However there were a lot of people smoking the devil's cabbage about the place. So we just went with that.

 

[Fr8monkey]

So Shekwan, did ya get a contact high?

 

[Shekwan]

So Shekwan, did ya get a contact high?

Yes, in fact I got several contacts high.

 

[holy king]

 

[RedRalph]

Americans, in several of Stephen King's later books he refers to 'unincorporated townships'. What are they?

 

[Cutlass]

Americans, in several of Stephen King's later books he refers to 'unincorporated townships'. What are they?

In the state of Maine, where king lives, there is the lowest population density of any US state east of the Mississippi. What that means is there is a lot of land with next to no one living on it. Not enough people to form towns. So they don't have incorporated towns in many areas, they have unincorporated townships. Which is really just a way of designating where things are on a map without the trouble and cost of forming towns that maybe 2 or 3 families might live in. There are areas where they are not even named, and driving on those roads you'll see signs that say "unincorporated township 24" or something like that. Others are actual towns, tiny ones of a few 100 people, but they decided to not have a town government. The counties are usually the government in those cases. But as the counties cover 100s of square miles, the townships remain just as a way to designate on a map where places are.

I'm fairly sure this town in unincorporated. http://maine.hometownlocator.com/me/somerset/rockwood.cfm It has some 300 full time residents and doesn't even rate a Wiki entry. The church there is a log cabin my grandfather built.

 

[Arwon]

It means they're not a legal entity, there's no official government recognised by the county or state government.

 

[RedRalph]

Ah, thanks for the explanations lads (esp Cutlass). Does this mean they have more lax laws on vice, etc?

 

[Cutlass]

Ah, thanks for the explanations lads (esp Cutlass). Does this mean they have more lax laws on vice, etc?

No, it mostly means there's no one there to break a law or enforce it. There are still state laws. And the "local" government is the county government. But the county government just covers so much territory that lower level names are just used to make it easier to find places.

 

[Kerozine]

[...]

Founding Fathers considered religion to be a threat to democracy. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, claimed "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man" (p. 43). Benjamin Franklin said "Lighthouses are more useful than churches" (p. 43). A 1796 treaty signed by John Adams declares, "the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion[/B]" (p. 40). Adams also said, "this would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it" (p. 43)

[...]

-Some review of Dawkins' book on some obscure online shopping website.

Are the quoted statements of US founding fathers true or false? Why is religion such a big issue in the US?

 

[Cutlass]

Are these quoted statements true or false? Why is religion such a big issue in the US?

Many of the early settlers of the parts of North America which became the US came from areas of Europe that suffered greatly from the Counter Reformation and the religious wars of Europe. That was their cultural heritage. There was even a substantial movement at one time to outlaw the Catholic Church throughout the Colonies and early US. Churches, all of them, not just the Catholic, with secular power were seen as one of the greatest dangers to life, liberty, and property.

 

[Mowque]

@Cutlass- That was a good explanation. Learn something everyday.

 

[henrebotha]

I think "klavier" is indeed only used in Flanders, but most people say "toetsenbord". "Sleutelbord" is quite funny - I must remember that one for my list of Funny Afrikaanse Words (together with moltrein and hijsbak )

The Afrikaans word for cotton candy is "spookasem" - thought you might like to know.

 

[Sofista]

Welshmen!!

I thought I'd try rarebit. Could you give me (or link me to) a good recipe?

 

[holy king]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_rarebit#Origin_of_the_names

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Do you think there's enough threads on the politics of your country in OT?