It's perfectly fine to criticize the US, and admittedly, I don't eat much McDonald's myself (I find it to be the poorest quality fast food out there).

What usually irks me is the fact that it seems that most countries blame their weight issues on the US. That seems like scapegoating to me. If I get fat from drinking soda, it's not the soda's fault, it's mine for drinking it in the first place.

France has every right to do what they wish within their schools and government, it's a free world (for the most part, lol). I find that most articles like this seem to be written in the guise of everything being America's fault. Getting fat from sugary foods is n't anyone's fault except those consuming the food in the first place.

To prove my point:

French fries - Belgium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_fries
Hamburgers - Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger#Invention
Sugar-based candies (Ages old)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy

"Soft drinks with more sugar than water"
Not possible, regular soda is 90% water, diet is 99%
http://blog.fooducate.com/2010/05/11/logigfail-sodapop-is-90-water-the-most-important-nutrient/

Check your facts before you shoot off your mouth next time.

@ hmm...

Last time I checked, in those countries the citizens are free to buy what they like. It's not the fault of the US if they buy that stuff, and I guarantee if you track down the original source of 95% of those foods, they have origins outside of the United States, considering the US is a relatively young country compared to most others. So you can take you anti-US sentiment elsewhere. kthxbye.

They make mass produced ketchup that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it, and it tastes just as good. The French just want something else to complain about.

I would go out on a limb and assume that most cases for these books being banned (mostly from schools and possible libraries) are parents who are too shallow to see the meanings behind the dialects and colloquialisms present in most of these books. It makes me sad that in a country of "free speech" that some tight-assed members of the community pointed enough fingers and whined loud enough to get these literary masterpieces "banned".

It only does those things if you let it. Having a will stronger than "accessory technology" is a powerful thing.

That. Was. Awesome.

Isn't this kinda old? I thought I remembered seeing this a couple years ago.

Just as to point out, not to be a jerk, it's "Chinatown" not "Chinatwon" :)

Well, at least they put George W. DumbA$$ near the bottom, where he belongs.

Yay! Kool-Aid!

Global Warming.

It looks like one of those crappy third party controllers that never quite work as advertised.

They are all governed by the Boy Scouts of America, but a Boy Scout is a graduated Cub Scout. Kind of like graduating from grade school to high school.

Not to be nit-picky, but this is for Cub Scouts, not Boy Scouts.

I think people commonly mistake "spanking" for "beating the hell out of your children". I was spanked as a child, but being a mammal with a brain, I associated pain with an incorrect action.

That being said, "spankings" for me were a mere swat here and there, and over the course of my childhood, never happened over a dozen times.

The key is not to be angry at your children, which is where the latter aggression may stem, but to discipline them when necessary. Most, if not all, children learn fairly quickly that a swat on the butt doesn't feel all that good and will follow the rules. I think this has much more impact than a "time out" in a room full of toys.