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sea_shell
By sea_shell | Aug 18 2014 9:38 PM
Blackflag: Oh my word...
You say you argue facts, your first 'fact' was that American doesn't have territories... Another 'fact' was that Wyoming is a country. I don't count your facts as facts, simply because you type it.

You are the one calling American Samoa 'Samoa', not me. I have been to both many times for extended periods, I know the difference. Wait for it; experience and living in a place trumps googling in.

It was an AMERICAN state. Or are you uncomfortable with that terminology also?

You have added the American beef part into the conversation. That is not what I've said at all. As a side, I wouldn't call half of what is labeled as food in America actual food.Food from France, cooked by Frenchmen, designed by French chefs equates to french food, regardless of where you eat it.

Kua mutu taku korero.
I'm not sure if I trust anyone who doesn't have their face as their profile.
nzlockie
By nzlockie | Aug 18 2014 11:34 PM
Point of order: Samoa is a country. Formerly known as Western Samoa, they are completely independent and are a country in every sense of the word.

American Samoa is a completely different location, in a different time zone and everything. They are an American territory, hence the name.

The two are completely different to the point where NZ has more in common with Samoa than American Samoa has to do with Samoa. If you were knocked on the head and woke up PagoPago you would be forgiven for thinking you were in a poor part of Honolulu. They drive american cars on the wrong side of road just like in america, they use american money, eat american food, play american sports and watch american TV. They even have american accents.

Their schools have american names, they refer to "grades" not "years", " elementary" not "primary" and "recess" not "morning tea". They have yearbooks and glee clubs and everything.
I have no idea where their school ciriculum comes from, but I would bet american money that whatever state it's from is in the USA someplace.

Samoa on the other hand, looks like a typical pacific island with indigenous pacific islanders. They use their own currency and drive cars from all over world on whatever side of the road they feel like at the time. They play rugby and volleyball, watch Samoan kareoke and eat anything and everything.

Most definitely a different country.


Carry on.
Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 5:30 AM
sea_shell: Yet you still haven't told me which state?
Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 5:31 AM
nzlockie: Samoa is an island region.
The independent state of samoa is the country you are referring to.
sea_shell
By sea_shell | Aug 19 2014 6:48 AM
Blackflag: Of course, because in the world where the USA doesn't have territories, Wyoming is a country and American Samoa is not, some states are more American than others. What's your criteria for an American state to be a state? Minimum 40% obesity? At least 75% gun ownership? That the average adult in the state must read at least to an 8th grade level?
I'm not sure if I trust anyone who doesn't have their face as their profile.
Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 8:00 AM
sea_shell: Okay, most of that comment was unrelated insults to America, but I'll let is slide.
A state is a legal entity that has a constitution, two senators in congress, a private millitia. ect.
The American Samoa is not a state, but a territory.

And yes, Wyoming is as much of a constituent country as scotland is.
A country is a government that administers people within set borders.
The American Samoa is NOT a state.

Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 8:02 AM
I already conceded that the American Samoa was a territory immediately after you said it.
Why do you keep bringing up a conceded point two pages later?

You are only arguing from fallacies at this point.
Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 8:13 AM
Wikipedia Article
[italics]A state of the United States of America is one of the 50 constituent political entities that shares its sovereignty with the United States federal government. Because of the shared sovereignty between each U.S. state and the U.S. federal government, an American is a citizen of both the federal republic and of his or her state of domicile.[3] State citizenship and residency are flexible and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders (e.g., paroled convicts and children of divorced spouses who are sharing custody).
States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local governmental authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state. Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia use the official title of Commonwealth rather than State.
State governments are allocated power by the people (of each respective state) through their individual constitutions. By ratifying the United States Constitution, the states transferred certain limited sovereign powers to the federal government. Historically, the tasks of law enforcement, public education, public health, transportation, and infrastructure have generally been considered primarily state responsibilities, although all of these now have significant federal funding and regulation as well.
Over time, the U.S. Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the federal government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a continuing debate over states' rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states' powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government as well as the rights of individual persons. Debates over states' rights were a contributing factor to the outbreak of the American Civil War.
The United States Congress may admit new states on an equal footing with existing ones; this last happened in 1959 with the admission of Alaska (Jan. 3) and Hawaii (Aug. 21). The U.S. Constitution is silent on the question of whether states have the power to leave, or secede from, the Union, but the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled[4][5] unilateral secession to be unconstitutional, a position driven in part by the outcome of the American Civil War.[/italics]
Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 8:15 AM
The American Samoa isn't a state. It doesn't have autonomy in its decisisions.
Its government was created by our congress. They are inequal in every sense.

But yes, the American Samoa also fits the definition for country.
Blackflag
By Blackflag | Aug 19 2014 8:18 AM
Definition of country an area of land that is controlled by its own government
Saying Wyoming is a country is a fact. The US constitution affirms that the United States of America is a political union of 50 sovereign states working together for peace and prosperity. In the same manner as the European Union.
sea_shell
By sea_shell | Aug 19 2014 5:04 PM
Blackflag: When did I say American Samoa is a state? I said it is a private school, using an American curriculum. What makes one American state more American than another?
And I'm bringing it up because it shows a pattern. You make sweeping claims, state them as facts and then move onto another sweeping claim. If you're wrong in one of your 'facts', can't you conceive that your other beliefs may be warped and if someone has experienced somethin they might have a little bit more of an understanding about it than you.

And again, what US state is more American than others? Do you have a complete ranking system or are they just in tiers?
I'm not sure if I trust anyone who doesn't have their face as their profile.
ADreamOfLiberty
By ADreamOfLiberty | Aug 20 2014 1:57 AM
admin: "What does liberty even mean?"

It is the ability to act in accordance with your own will without interference (defined as active deception/violence/restraint not disinterest) from other moral beings or fear thereof so long as that action does not itself interfere with other innocent moral beings.

There may appear to be infinite recursion here, but it is not infinite but ends with the original aggressor amongst a group of (at the time) innocent people. The scope of your rights (proper liberties) is the symmetric difference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric_difference of all possible actions of all moral beings in their initial state.
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