Observations of an American Expat in Europe

John:

...just a very personal comment...

...things are not that bad yet that one would have to resort to picking john doe as a nick!...if you fear retalition of sorts with your employers or collegaues you could have selected any other nick...

...ayatollah john ashland and other bushites dallying with the nation would be reversed and done with in the coming 8-10 years...just like that other dark spot on US...the excesses of Mcarthysim...

rgds,

t

Interesting observations--material that is sure to stir some thoughts. Welcome to Chowk (I hope you see beyond our unbridled speech, it is our one freedom that we protect).

re: Stuka
Last I heard All are welcome to read write and think at Chowk--so why should he not talk to the readers of Chowk. America WAS the bastion of freedom. Things have changed--slowly but surely over the last decade. People at Chowk are NOT `immigrants` or `xyz` but explorers crossing terrains. Anybody can take to the quest at any time. I refuse to be called a `south asian immigrant`. I am a traveller in ideas, space and time. Today I happen to be in Canada. Tomorrow the world beckons.

Boo Hoo Sob. Would you like some cheese with your whine?

You come on a board dominated by South Asians, quite a few immigrants, to whine about the loss of liberty in the US?

As far as your facile comparisons to Europe are concerned, please talk to a few immigrants there instead of projecting your own experience as a universal one. European cops routinely brutalize illegal immigrants. A German cop can ask for residential permit from any one at any time and yes, it`s only the ethnic types who get the shake down.

As a colored person who has spent time in Europe pre 9/11 and in the states both pre and post 9/11, I`d take the States over France and Germany any day. And yes, I would willingly give up some right of privacy to protect this system which gives me more dignity as a human being than the country of my birth.