Jan 08, 2004, 3:20pm

It's kinda scary how Big Brother the US of A is getting these days

• US news media becoming more and more subjective and biased in their reporting of world events (CNN's basically a PR firm for the US Govt these days)
  
  
• US telling foreign, sovereign nations, what they "must" do with their own airlines and other security arrangements
  
  
• The fingerprinting and photographing of "the rest of the world" should they come to the US as a visitor
  
  
• The "Homeland Security" department and it's sweeping powers
  
  
• A quote from a NY politician about searches of cars in the various tunnels leading into NYC on new year's eve: "Yes, the searches do go against personal freedoms and rights (guaranteed by the US constitution), but that's the price we're willing to pay for personal safety."
  
  

There's so many other things. Since 9 / 11 (and many would argue for decades before it), the US has been moving towards a total Big Brother kinda state. Post 9 / 11 has given the US government the impetus to do some sweeping changes that not only affect the personal (and supposedly guaranteed) freedoms of most Americans, but they are now dictating, at a near unprecedented scale, what the rest of the world should and must do.

This raises another point. These wars against "the evil dooers" and such. Has to the US and its populace ever stopped to think why people like Osama Bin Laden actually hate the US so much?

Okay. In Bin Laden's case, his hate is rabid, and probably insanity. And I'm not at any stretch suggesting the US should try to figure out how to end the hate someone like Bin laden has for the US.

But here's another thing. See the strength (or lack thereof) of the US dollar these days? In Canada's case, our dollar has gone up from 63 cents to 78 cents in about a year. It's predicted to go up to 90 cents within another 18 months. Other currencies around the world are also raising against the US dollar. Or put another way, the US dollar's value is sinking like a rock.

This is the world speaking, financially, about how it feels about the United States and what the US is doing in geopolitics. Yes, that's simplified, but it's true.

Go to Europe, and Americans are not viewed in a good light. Go to Africa, and it's even worse. Go to Asia... well, they like taking US greenbacks, but don't give two hoots about US policies, wants, or needs.

Focusing on Europe, there's been a historical neutrality or mild dislike of Americans for most of the period after WW II. The main reason is the American brashness to force it's own culture and will (and language, and customs etc) on other parts of the world where they visit. The stereotypical "don't they speak American here????" quote comes to mind - hell, it was in the very recent movie "Just Married".

So instead of fighting the "evil dooers" and imposing Big Brother type lifestyles on their own people and the world, perhaps the leaders of the United States should instead be tackling the issue of why the rest of the world at best tolerates the US, and at worst (excluding the Osama types) actively dislikes the US.

Some will write it off as being jealousy. That's a blind and very conceited view. The reason why the rest of the world is getting tired of the United States is complex and deep, and it has to do with the US's attitude that their culture, their way of life, their language, their customs etc etc are not embraced and liked by many other folks in the world.

Take the gun issue for example. Most of western civilization looks at the US and thinks the country is a self-destructive, violent society, one that embraces blood and death more than it does love and beauty and the human being. This is because in the US, it's more accepted to own a gun than it is to sunbathe topless at a beach. Way more excepted. In Canada, we have lots of gun owners, but our death by gun rate is miniscule, compared to the US. Vancouver usually has a dozen or so gun deaths a year. Seattle, not a much bigger city, has that many in a month. But in Vancouver, we have full nudist beaches, and even the main beaches sometimes feature no hassle topless sunbathing.

Another example - on COPS, we've all seen casual marijuana join smokers "hassled" by the man, as it were - given a very rough time because they were smoking the "killer weed". But I also remember seeing one episode where some dude was firing off his gun in his back yard, and all the cops did was take it away, and issue him a fine. Too freaky.

This is all a simplified look, I know, and I'm presenting generalizations and a few isolated examples to drive a point, but in the end, it does raise a valid point:

Perhaps the US should be doing some self-examination into why the US is so disliked around most of the world, and what the US could do, on its own, to improve that situation. Eliminate the mild dislikes, join the rest of the world community in the advancement of civilization, and perhaps the real haters will have a little less to hate the US for.

13 comments | reply

Mixelania

Photos from Algonquin Park
Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers.

War Stories

Making Snow for the Fortress
One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out.

Webiffied

Tools I Use
The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.

iPod and iTunes Offline

iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow.

Most Recent Songs

Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip

Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido

With arms open wide by Creed

truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band

In the News

Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.

St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines

AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided

NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders

Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!

The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara

Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer

NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines

Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.

NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.

Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.

USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.

WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.

Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.

My Other Stuff

CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.

CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.

WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!

Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!

Daily Visits

enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.

Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.

DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.

Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!

Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.

MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.

Friends and Family Plan

Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.

Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly

Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr

Recent Acquisitions

Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.

Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.

Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography

Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.

Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D

Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs

28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography

Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.

Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.

Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D