> None of these possible reasons sound plausible. In fact, such > statements > come across as rather aggressive and insulting. Now, I'm sure you > didn't > mean to come across as aggressive and insulting, and maybe it > wouldn't be > considered aggressive and insulting by other Americans, but when > engaging > in discussions with non-Americans you must keep in mind that non- > Americans > have different values and a different cultural background. What > may be > considered an entire harmless statement in the US may be > considered a grave > insult elsewhere.
In 2000, during the Sydney Olympics, a number of broadsheets back home in Oz reprinted articles from the US, written by American sports journalists in Sydney for the Olympics, who were shocked at the fact Australians weren't desperately and completely in love with the US (and that many even were strongly anti-American). Quite humorous in a sense, and interesting to boot, given the similiar history Australia and the US partially share in common. Australians can be very self-centered, and have a very blinkered view of the world in many ways, but are light-years ahead of Americans, in my opinion, in terms of how they viewed the world. cheers, Ibrahim Underwood Singapore NOTICE: This communication is meant only for the addressee(s) named above and may contain information which is confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not the named addressee(s), or the agent responsible for receiving and delivering this communication to the named addressee(s), this communication has been sent to you in error. If so, kindly contact us immediately for retrieval purposes. Unauthorised dissemination,distribution, copying or reliance on this communication is prohibited and may attract criminal penalties. Thank you. [Sponsored by:] _____________________________________________________________________________ The newest lyrics on the Net! http://lyrics.astraweb.com Click NOW!