Something to think about...(US longevity)

[Rhyfelwyr]

Since when did you need fine cousine to eat yourself to death?

Deep fried mars bars anyone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_Bar

[HoreTore]

Since when did you need fine cousine to eat yourself to death?

Well, being able to eat the food is pretty much required

[Rhyfelwyr]

You tellin' me you can't handle a deep fried mars bar?

[HoreTore]

That thing won't enter my mouth, no sir.

[Reverend Joe]

Since when did you need fine cousine to eat yourself to death?

Deep fried mars bars anyone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_Bar

They look like deep fried turds...

@Swordsmaster: just for the record, I think you see a lot more racism in the U.S. because people are acknowledging and fighting it, and because it takes on a very different flavor than in Europe. In the U.S., the racism occurs within the borders; European racism is generally more directed towards people outside the country, so they don't have to think about it. But when the problem comes home, I frankly don't see any real difference between the two. Case in point: ask the average German what he thinks about Turks and he will go on a tirade that sounds surprisingly similar to an extreme version of the anti-Hispanic sentiment in America. Or look at France's and Holland's problems with Muslims. Or, going back a few decades, the French who would harass my mother (who was studying in France) about the Civil Rights issue in America; but when questioned about their treatment of Algerians, would respond (and I quote) "Oh, that's different -- they are animals!"

Europe may look less racist, but it's only because Europeans have had to deal with much less immigration. Hell, maybe we should all just move back to Europe and bring all our minorities with us. Let's see how tolerant you are within a few years.

And as to the original point... yeah, our healthcare is in shambles. And I used to be a fan of Hillary, because she was pulling for universal healthcare; but at some point she just stopped being... real. She's become a cardboard cutout. It's sad. And I doubt that anyone could fix the healthcare system, be it Obama or Hillary; it's gonna take some kind of mass revolution for anything to happen.

Or maybe I'll just move to Canada.

*prays that Canada doesn't shut down the cannabis cafes...*

[Adrian II]

Europe may look less racist, but it's only because Europeans have had to deal with much less immigration.

Not true. But the rest of your views and comparisons (particularly between Latinos in the U.S. and Muslim immigrants in Europe) are on the mark.

My country has about 2 million 'Muslim' migrants (i.e. migrants from predominantly Muslims countries, even though they may have any other religion or none at all), which is about 1/8 of the population.

In the U.S. that percentage would amount to 37 million Muslim migrants. As it stands, Islam is marginal in the U.S. with about 0.5% of inhabitants. The U.S. has about 15% 'Hispanics' (i.e. people from Spanish speaking countries, even though they may not even speak Spanish themselves) who immigrated more or less recently. Since most Hispanics have low education and seek manual jobs and such, the comparison with Muslim migrants in Europe is in some ways useful. But the US. has not had a comparably swift and masive influx of low educated migrants with a different religion from that of the host country.

Of course all such comparisons should be qualified, and qualified again, because of the many differences.

There are Europe-wide numbers but I can't be bothered to look them all up right now. Maybe someone else will, so we can look at the whole picture.

[ICantSpellDawg]

Not true. But the rest of your views and comparisons (particularly between Latinos in the U.S. and Muslim immigrants in Europe) are on the mark.

My country has about 2 million 'Muslim' migrants (i.e. migrants from predominantly Muslims countries, even though they may have any other religion or none at all), which is about 1/8 of the population.

In the U.S. that percentage would amount to 37 million Muslim migrants. As it stands, Islam is marginal in the U.S. with about 0.5% of inhabitants. The U.S. has about 15% 'Hispanics' (i.e. people from Spanish speaking countries, even though they may not even speak Spanish themselves) who immigrated more or less recently. Since most Hispanics have low education and seek manual jobs and such, the comparison with Muslim migrants in Europe is in some ways useful. But the US. has not had a comparably swift and masive influx of low educated migrants with a different religion from that of the host country.

Of course all such comparisons should be qualified, and qualified again, because of the many differences.

There are Europe-wide numbers but I can't be bothered to look them all up right now. Maybe someone else will, so we can look at the whole picture.

You are begging to deal with the xenophobic response to that massive influx (ie: far right group resurgence and some average people's views being more in line with Frag)\

I agree that cheap shot surveys should be more fully understood before they are used as a self-serving bludgeoning devices against certain countries.

As mentioned, the UN's HDI report isn't as damning towards the U.S. as the longevity studies.