All I'll say about the UAW, is that they must have a LOT more power than any Aussie union. Unions tend not to have much power in Australia. They used to in the past however. I still wouldn't yell at them, it just garauntees that the worker in question will NEVER respect you in the future (and thus not do any work). This is even more important as these guys apparently can't be sacked... I would still tell them off, but a lower volume voice and a stern but not emotive delivery will do wonders. Try it out.
I find it very hard to believe there is absolutely no avenue available to fire a worker who is totally hopeless and just sleeps all day. Good luck.
So you sterotype Asians now? Way to go ! I guess while you are at it, all Asians are smart, all Indians are doctors, all Middle Easterners own gas stations, etc. You can't generalize people like that. And you know how many Japanese cars are actually built in Japan?...Actually wait that might not be so vaild. I should say the Japanese cars we get in America are typically built in North America, I can't say for the rest of the world.
Stereotyping is different from well researched behavioural trends amongst different cultures. I stress the culture of the workplace affects the work-ethic more than the country the workers are originally from - race isn't the issue here, its just happened that Japanese guys (on average) have a stronger work ethic, for various reasons. I never said they were smarter, or would work well without that strong work culture being around them. It is true that in Japan many workers NEVER take a day off, because the work-ethic is so strong. This is not a stereotype, it is fact.
You need to understand more about Japanese culture to see I was never sterotyping. Of course there are lazy people everywhere etc. Its just a trend. Their government actually had to FORCE Japanese bussinessmen to have a few days off so they could see their families etc. Again this obviously isn't true of all Japanese.
If you just assume in future that I don't just make crap up about differnet cultures because I feel like it, it'll save me having to reply to naive posts like this one. Australia is a very multicultural place, so it gives me a little greater understanding of the world. We are, by nature, a lot more concious of world happenings than most Americans. You only have to watch American news services compared to Australian news to get a feeling about this. Most average Americans, when approached on the street, can't find Iraq on a map, and most think we have polar bears in Australia, and that we ride kangaroos to work. You have a great country Blazin', the people are just a bit inward focused and naive about the world. If you want to take issue, realise that I do think there are LOADS of really world-aware and intelligent Americans. Also note, every other nation on Earth agrees with my position on thinking yanks have limited knowledge of many international issues, and I'm not saying every American should! I suppose you have a enough to worry about with such are large country to look after.
Second part...
I was referring to the cars built and sold in Japan. These are the cars I was talking about, right from the start. Obviously a car built in America isn't really Japanese, or built by the Japanese (well not for the most part). There are a lot of Japanese brands built worldwide, for instance we have local factories for Toyota and Mitsubishi, but I consider the cars built here distinctly Australian.
Why would I feel bad about bombing a coutry 60 years ago? And I'm very unpolitically corerect but on these boards you have to be since you don't know who is what. People have found it offensive in the past, I don't care but others might. Plus you don't really need to use racial slurs anyways.
I was totally joking about Hiroshima. WW2 was the last time 'Japanese' was really used as a strong racial slur. Thats why I mentioned it... just joking (I thought the "LOL!" was kinda obvious oh well.) The meaning of the word stopped being deemed offensive a LONG time ago in Australia. Its commonly used simply as an abbreviated form of the word Japanese, because Aussies are lazy with their lingo generally. It has actually become an affectionate way of referring to the Japanese - Aussies love the irony here. I hope you can understand why. I wasn't even aware the word was potentially offensive anywhere anymore. If it is, I'll respect that and not use it.
I still think your making 100 times bigger deal out of it than it warrants.
For your information, I would never knowingly use racial slurs against anyone that I knew could offend. I assume 'yank' is fine as you guys have 'yankees' written on yer baseball hats! I am shocked by common use of '******' down in the southern states of America. I find that the only really bad slur that still is prevalent in the western world.
You can have your opinions about Aston Martin, but you do realize they are owned by Ford Motor Company right?
Yes, I know. They still rock and still remain quintessentially British enough for me, in design, feel and sound for me to ignore the Ford ownership. I don't think Ford really imposes much, other than making sure Aston can't really die financially, which is great!
I'll leave the union troubles to you mate. As I said, we have unions here, but they can usually work out reasonable work practises without getting in too much of a pickle. I think Aussies are just generally too chilled-out to fight terribly much.
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