It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


The World Turns Away
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
 
Thanks to Yo.Be for directing us to this resource:

When Americans were asked, "If more people around the world say they have been feeling worse about the United States, how much is this a problem for the US?" 70% said it was "a lot" or "somewhat" of a problem. And this 70% is right: when the rest of the world consider the United States in unfavorable terms, it will be much more difficult for the United States to get by.

So what's the score? How have citizens of other countries been feeling about the United States since George W. Bush took charge? Well, in thirty countries polled, more citizens say that Bush's policies have made them feel worse about the United States than say his policies have made them feel better about us. In only three countries did more of citizens say that Bush's policies have made them feel better about the United States. (Source: University of Maryland Program on International Policy Attitudes September 8, 2004)

Posted by James Cook at 8:33 AM. # (permalink)



Comments:
So what's with the Philippines?
 

Yes, the Philippines is one of those three countries. I wonder why. Do you have any ideas?
 

The Philippines is a former colony of the United States, and so has a weird love-hate attitude towards Americans.

Also, Filipinos have a native movie industry that thrives on Arnold Schwarzenneger-style action flicks.

Then, you've got the fact that the majority of Filipinos are Catholics with a conservative bent.
 



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