And utterly true, we are the true men of the world! Honest...

If only we could be allowed to forget that one. D:

REWORD: Do we have any Japanese GOGers who have lived there their entire lives?

I'm curious in regards to World War 2, something I've always wanted to ask, and I get the general vibe that it might be true.

How much is taught in Japanese schools about their involvement in World War 2? In regards to biochemical weapons tests on the Chinese, treatment of prisoners of war, and so on.

This is asked with no disrespect, I tend to think if anyone is going to honour veterans, it should be all veterans of all sides. In the end, we're just trying to validate wholesale slaughter by painting one side bad and the other good. (there is no good)

And to the Brits, Guy Fawkes, still thought of a terrorist and/or traitor, or has he become a sort of Ned Kelly like folk hero?

Well... there's not so much opinion on him at all any more. I guess you could say he's become a folk villain. I doubt people who make a 'Guy' and burn in really think about what they're doing.
Personally, I don't like to call it Guy Fawkes night because I have nothing against the guy and besides, bonfire night is a much older tradition that just got hijacked.

tl;dr: No one really cares about him any more (or even notices he was a real person).

Well, its my personal observation that Republicans are all about what's best for businesses (since they own most of them) and Democrats are all about what's best for people. I'm 38 years old, so I think I've built a pretty accurate viewpoint on that, I'm not just some angry youth.

But it does astound me that since there are so many more people than there are businesses, that a Republican can still get elected. Ah, Political Science...the art of bullshitting.

But it does go both ways. I'm not speaking in favor of one political party over another. I think both parties are motivated by what's best for them & their own friends/families.

Not an american here, but I'll guess that's because many people value social conservatism (no gay marriage, no abortion, etc.) more than economic conservatism?

This is one I can pretty much answer. Basically, like the Burakumin, it's a subject that is very touchy and is one that the government would rather not exist. Yes, text books are vetted and censored by the government. Every time authors/publishers have tried to add such subjects into the text books it never makes it past the government.

And this despite many protests by citizens, especially Okinanwans who want their own stories told (even the events on Iwo Jima, etc., are heavily censored to the point that what is taught is a falsehood).

All the time the government are allowed to censor text books, this is not going to change.

You know the cliche of how senior citizens are always telling the younger generations how they used to walk to school ten miles, barefoot, uphill both ways, in the snow, etc? That's kinda how my dad got to where he is today. He was the younger-middle child of a farmer from Lincoln, Nebraska, and spent a couple decades in school to get to be the radiation oncologist that he is (for those who don't want to look it up, he basically uses a ray-gun to irradiate a piece of metal to nuke cancer cells from the inside out). Add that to the fact that he has a wife and six kids (I'm the oldest) to provide for (most of us have moved out now), and you get the feeling that he deserves the right to say "No" to Washington taking his money via income taxes to be distributed to those who have been empowered by virtue of their alleged shortcomings.

I mean that's basically what "affirmative action" is. You're saying to this "minority" individual that "Hey, you're different from the rest of us, and because of that difference you're probably not going to make the grade on your own, so we're going to throw you a bone and promote you on the principle of your skin colour".

Along with how poor people are more likely to be Christian and want to, like the Republicans, limit the rights of others, many poor people have a broad misconception, fed by Republicans, that large amounts of wealth are just around the corner, so they should protect their wealth so when they get it, it won't be taken away by evil taxes.

The wealth will trickle down!

Yeah. *roll eyes*

I'd like to immigrate to Norway. I understand most of the rules for everything, but my question is, is Norway that great? It seems so, but I haven't been there. Does the weather suck (I know it's Sweden, but it looks pretty damn cold and snowy in Let The Right One In)? I hear you can hunt there, I do hunt for food, is this actually practical. I know taxes are really high and stuff is very expensive, but with professional pay do you have disposable income?

Reasons I'm interested in Norway:
- It seems the government is run by the middle class
- You guys have a working healthcare system, actually your whole goverment seems to work, hell, even your prison system seems humane
- You seem to be self sufficient for energy (what about food?)
- Privacy seems to actually be respected, even by the government
- People seem to be open minded (I come from an area where having tattoos and piercings is very common, few people care what gender anyone else prefers to sleep with, it's legal for women to be topless in areas of major cities where men are allowed to be topless, etc.)

How many sunny days do you have per year?

Oh, and since you're next door, why was every Finn I met while in Europe seemingly depressed? Is it a cultural rule or something (be depressed and drink Vodka)?

Well, when I was poor I voted Republican because I believe in personal responsibility and small government. There wasn't anything they did during that time that made my life harder since the only things they could would have done to make my life harder (ie social changes) were rebuffed by Democrats.

Now that I'm not poor and much older, I always vote for non Republican/Democrat because I believe they are more about feeding off each other rather than being 'true' to their original natures. I don't believe there is much actual distinction as each major party tries to look 'nice' to the middle of the road voter. Currently each side believes it is the other guy's fault. They are both wrong.

Now, my question:

What is viewed as the main sport in the U.S. by people outside of the U.S.?

As somebody in the U.S., if I was asked that question about other countries:

I would say 'soccer/football' for most everywhere
Very cold countries where I'd say 'skiing' except
For Canada I'd say Hockey
For Australia I wouldn't know what to say, maybe Australian Football or Rugby or perhaps Soccer/Football.

I always think of cricket when I think of Australia, though that's a bit of a touchy subject at the moment!
And I think of either baseball or American Football when I think of the main sports in the US.