Badgerboy 0 Posted May 24, 2003 I think the United States government has learned from past mistakes by past superpowers, and has a chance of lasting longer than the others. Hardly, many, many Empires have fallen, and none of them seemed to have had a foolproof plan. Empires fall for a multitude of reasons, not always mistakes. Consider that 150 years ago the British Empire ruled 1/4 of the worlds land and population, and was the greatest Empire to date....and it unravelled pretty quickly. Despite having a very powerful military there was nothing they could do. Economics and foreign policy can be a bitch sometimes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FSPilot 0 Posted May 24, 2003 I don't see it happening in the near future. We've already been through an economic crisis, a civil war, and most of our bad leadership has worked out for the best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badgerboy 0 Posted May 24, 2003 Depends on your definition of 'the near future'. I call 150 years ago pretty recent considering the age of most of the worlds nations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarkLight 0 Posted May 24, 2003 I think some people around here will comment that it is another certain country that has gained a reputation for launching unprovoked attacks lately, but not me of course. Â :cool: sorry. I was having a DarkLight moment ;) That's not an excuse, young man! ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akira 0 Posted May 24, 2003 Short of catacylismic war, we are past the time of Empire's "falling". But at the same rate countries can not continue an infinite rate of expansion and growth. The Sun will wane on the US eventually...but I highly doubt it will "fall" or break apart as other countries. As it does for every country at the pinnacle, there is always a down slope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jinef 2 Posted May 24, 2003 Well there has been 4 or so empires with the Eagle as it's symbol, the last one being the Roman empire, all fell in the end. The Roman empire was destroyed by hundreds of thousands of Celts like Boadicea and huge Scandinavian hordes with axes etc. Anywho it's going to happen, probably like Russia and Britain, power just decreases, maybe a new set of goverment parties, democrats who are actually liberal etc. Or maybe the famed militia groups all over the US rise up and start a new 2 day week system. You know the British people work the longest in all the European countries, no wonder everyone's a bit too stressed. I doubt it will be happening soon though, i'm hoping for a reformed America that doesn't revolve around ignorance and corporate greed, one may wish Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jinef 2 Posted May 24, 2003 I agree with Badgerboy (as usual), I have here in my hand a poem from 1240 AD, it's about a cuckoo, it's not very good and middle english is slightly silly but this dates to i think before America was even being properly colonised. I can't remember when we opened pandora's box and found 'India' as CC thought it to be, the vegetation should have been a dead giveaway though. Anyway the point is there were people rambling on about little birds etc. way before America was discovered, almost everyone has had an empire and they have all fallen. It only takes one Ghandi! Quite funny that he was then killed after by a guy who wanted seperate states, crazy world. Btw. We didn't get any votes in the Eurovision song contest at all! Because of this bloody war in Iraq! You would think that the Israelis might at least give us one lousy point! Considering that we did stop a huge evil dictator with WMDs etc. That's what i call ungrateful! Terry Wogan was really funny though, great radio personage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NurEinMensch 0 Posted May 25, 2003 [...]Btw. We didn't get any votes in the Eurovision song contest at all! Because of this bloody war in Iraq! [...] Or maybe it was because your song sucked! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted May 25, 2003 Being an acronym surely the end of the USA will be a . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IsthatyouJohnWayne 0 Posted May 25, 2003 Placebo-"Being an acronym surely the end of the USA will be a . " If you werent a mod id call you a smart arse NurEinMensch- "Or maybe it was because your song sucked!" I dont wish to go OT but national honour is stake! Our song sucked? Compared to what? That one brilliant entry that blew all the others away like .....um NONE OF THEM!  The whole idea of the eurovision contest (as far as i can tell) is that all the songs are so universally crap that the only thing to chose between is who had the most revealing outfits. What are the rules of the eurovision song contest anyway? How come the Russians got to use Tatu? Why cant we use Radiohead or someone? That would great  . Im rambling, but best of all im confusing lots of North Americans!  Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HellToupee 0 Posted May 25, 2003 i think we might see the end in our life times, the cause? oil yes its gona run out and if we still dont have an alternative by then were all stuffed, if we do then the balance of power shifts elsewhere, China will be one to watch. Nothing lasts forever, the romans had a pretty sweet empire going on head and sholders beyond everyone else, big cities a first back then i think with running water and sweage treatment, but they fell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
booradley60 0 Posted May 25, 2003 I see the US going the way of Britain. Waning from foreign influence but existing nonetheless. Who in the hell can beat Britain? Not the greatest conquerors in all of Europe's history. And they're separated from mainland Europe by a few miles. America has two oceans to recede between. Well, on second thought, the world is a lot smaller nowadays and the US is calling a lot more attention to herself than Britain is... WTF? I'm not Nostradamus (not a bad user name...) I shouldn't have tried to think about this so late at night... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toadeater 0 Posted May 25, 2003 i think we might see the end in our life times, the cause? oil yes its gona run out and if we still dont have an alternative by then were all stuffed, How about this: http://www.hempcar.org/ Engines can also run on plain old gasoline. Or you can make diesel fuel from garbage and other organic materials. It's more expensive now, but when mass produced it would become cheap. I mean, look at the computer industry as an example, or LCD screens compared to prices 10 years ago. Don't tell me it's more expensives to produce alcohol than a (*!%$!! LCD screen. Oh yeah, good ol' methane, like the kind you can make yourself without any special tools just by eating alot of beans, that can be cheaply produced too. If you don't like any of those methods, with some electricity and water you can make hydrogen to charge up fuel cells which will run everything from your household electricity needs to your car. This whole planet is run by corporate crooks who look out for each other's profits above all else, that's the problem, not any real lack of energy sources. Oil isn't just an energy source, it's a political and economic weapon. America's continued unecessary dependence on it is like dealing with the devil. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HellToupee 0 Posted May 25, 2003 ya but then they wont last ither, also geting it enough quantities would be difficult, the cost mass produced or not would be signaficantly higher. Hydrogen also isnt an option at the moment, most of it comes from oil refining and getting it by other means like from water requires large amounts of energy. Methane could be used but they already are trying that with little output. Theres also the question of power out put and endurace vs petrol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarkLight 0 Posted May 25, 2003 Btw. We didn't get any votes in the Eurovision song contest at all! Because of this bloody war in Iraq! You would think that the Israelis might at least give us one lousy point! Considering that we did stop a huge evil dictator with WMDs etc. That's what i call ungrateful! Terry Wogan was really funny though, great radio personage. Yesterday my sister asked me, guess what place we have right now? Â I'm getting pretty used to it that we're always one of the last so i said: The last i guess. She said: Almost. Â Then she put on our TV and i saw that we were first, i stood there for 15 full seconds trying to figure out why the fuck Belgium had the 1st position. Â I still find it hard to believe In the end we lost of Turkey with just 2 points, Eurovision sucks but it still was a nice surprise Vive la Belgique! We kicked europe's ass (take that ran!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IsthatyouJohnWayne 0 Posted May 25, 2003 These europeans are crazy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallenPaladin 0 Posted May 25, 2003 Yes, we are. The USA is probably going to build mini nukes in near future and we fight ourselves in an Eurovision song contest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Postduifje 0 Posted May 25, 2003 I watched some of it yesterday, and it was quite amusing. The Eurovision Songcontest is so gay! All the people complementing each other with the fabulous show, and there exelent preformance. And allmost all of the votes are politics (Poland-Germany , Cypres-Greece, Ukrain - Russia, Latvia - Estonia, France-Israel and so on...). Didn't see much of the show tough, did tatu make a lesbian pornshow of it? -Post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallenPaladin 0 Posted May 25, 2003 No, as far as I know, they didn`t. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sanctuary 19 Posted May 25, 2003 We are visionary in my country France We looked at the budget needed for Eurovision hosting , then decided to never win (the responsible of our few wins have been fired, they were incompetent for our plot) , so we will not have to pay for the organization of this event anymore http://www.flashpoint1985.com/ikonboa....n_o.gif For this plot , we have a near from perfect technique : we send an artist than no one in our own country know (and except 1-2 of those artists ,they will never have a career after the event, so even for the after-eurovision our technique is near from perfect to not spend money) Less money spent , and result assured : we are eurovision loser anytime and our budget is always good , every french people have now a ferrari testarossa because of this , thanks to our artists loser Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted May 25, 2003 Stick to the topic please people, this forum is not a place for discussing Eurovision, perhaps the Graham Norton forum would be more appropriate. IsthatyouJohnWayne don't worry I'd take it as a compliment ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NurEinMensch 0 Posted May 25, 2003 Stick to the topic please people, this forum is not a place for discussing Eurovision, perhaps the Graham Norton forum would be more appropriate.IsthatyouJohnWayne don't worry I'd take it as a compliment ;) And: Don't mention the war! Sorry, couldn't resist! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted May 25, 2003 John Cleese is about 5" taller than me Back on topic now please..... The good thing about being a mod is that I can say "back on topic" after I've just taken it off topic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theavonlady 2 Posted May 25, 2003 The good thing about being a mod is that I can say "back on topic" after I've just taken it off topic Whatever thrills ya. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Placebo 29 Posted May 25, 2003 No discussion about how the moderators work, you've been warned for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
