20 Responses to “Anti-Globo Nightmare”

1. #1 |  Joshua Claybourn's Domain |  August 13th, 2003 at 11:33 pm

   Warm Fuzzies?

   Assignment: Click here to view a picture, and then report back to let me know how it makes you feel.

2. #2 |  James D |  August 14th, 2003 at 12:01 am

   No. Wasn’t it you who pointed out that no 2 countries with a McDonalds have ever gone to war with each other? :)

3. #3 |  Sean Paddy |  August 14th, 2003 at 12:41 am

   I believe the UK and Argentina went to war in the 1980′s, and also believe they both had McDonalds, although i could be wrong. The falkland islands war was a fluke however, and was only a minor war over a miniscule piece of territory. It was also a problem that has been carried over since the colonization days of Europe. Otherwise liberal democracies have not gone to war with each other in the 20th century (i think again).

4. #4 |  Julian Sanchez |  August 14th, 2003 at 1:55 am

   I don’t think both countries in the first example had McDonalds at the time, but we messed up the pattern when we bombed Serbia.

5. #5 |  Anonymous |  August 14th, 2003 at 3:28 am

   Yes Obviously.

6. #6 |  Frank N |  August 14th, 2003 at 7:18 am

   Would they have built the pyramids if there was Pizza Hut back then?

7. #7 |  B Kieffer |  August 14th, 2003 at 8:42 am

   Yes, Frank, and they would have gone to the pizza buffet for their lunch break…. maybe hit starbucks on the way back to the quarry.

8. #8 |  HReardon |  August 14th, 2003 at 10:03 am

   I was under the impression the centrist columnists on the Times, Thomas Friedman, was the man who researched and first pointed out the McDonald’s Rule? If I am wrong can someone possibly point me in the right direction?

9. #9 |  Bart |  August 14th, 2003 at 10:40 am

   I haven’t been to the Pizza Hut in the picture, but I have been to that spot. Its hilarious, the city literally comes up to within a few hundred yards of the Sphinx and stops dead. All pictures of the pyramid are shot in the same direction because to shoot them the other way you would see a towering city in the backdrop.

   Capitalism exists even in Egypt surprisingly. A tourist near the pyramids can’t walk ten feet without being offered trinkets or tours to buy. The best by far are the tickets they sell to the laser light show ON THE SPHINX every night.

10. #10 |  butterfly |  August 14th, 2003 at 11:55 am

    Hank,

    Yes, Thomas Friedman came up witht he McDonald’s theory in his book The Lexus and the Olive Tree. If I rememder right, the Faulklands/UK example doesn’t work because the Faulklands didn’t have a McDonalds yet. The Serbia example is stickier, and Friedman examines it in his book. Basically, you could argue that it wasn’t really a war since it was a peacekeeping effort, or you could argue that the presence of McDonald’s (which represents the presence of middle-class Western society) kept the conflict from escalating too much – the people wanted McDonald’s, not war.

    Now there’s a slogan.

    Make burgers, not war!

    - butterfly

11. #11 |  Isaac |  August 14th, 2003 at 11:57 am

    i think the pizza hut at the pyramids is a great idea. imagine all those sweaty, fat retirees looking queasily at the native foods. and considering eating out has replaced homecooked meals, that pizza hut is a home away from home for many. go capitalism!

12. #12 |  Steve |  August 14th, 2003 at 12:25 pm

    maybe at your house eating out has replaced home cooked meals but not in mine. it must be nice to be so much better then others that you can nonchalantly insult a whole group of people. businesses should be able to go where they choose as long as the local zoning laws allow it.

13. #13 |  Isaac |  August 14th, 2003 at 2:03 pm

    steve– i wasn’t looking to insult. my family eats at home because its more healthy and cheaper than eating out. i was not being sarcastic about capitalism, my point should have been clearer. i was stating that if you look at restraunts on any given night, lots people eat out constantly, so seeing an american chain in a foreign country reminds them of “home.” therefore, those people will eat pizza hut overseas. its not a new idea. young japanese kids who have grown up with McDonalds see it as a comforting food from home when they come to the US. i think its kinda cool.

14. #14 |  James D |  August 14th, 2003 at 5:05 pm

    Yeah, you’re probably right HReardon. I think here on this site is just the first time I heard it quoted.

15. #15 |  Anonymous |  August 14th, 2003 at 8:48 pm

    steve-with skin that thin you probably wont survive long in the blogosphere.

16. #16 |  Eric the .5b |  August 15th, 2003 at 12:36 am

    I’d have double warm-and-fuzzies if I could patronize the local franchice of an Egyptian fast-food chain.

    But…If you’re wrong, Radley, I don’t wanna be right!

17. #17 |  Eric the .5b |  August 15th, 2003 at 12:36 am

    I’d have double warm-and-fuzzies if I could patronize the local franchise of an Egyptian fast-food chain.

    But…If you’re wrong, Radley, I don’t wanna be right!

18. #18 |  Luke Engan |  June 15th, 2004 at 5:04 pm

    The Falklands war was not an exception to Thomas Friedman’s McDonald’s theory. He was concerned about it until he checked and learned that the war predated the franchise ribbon-cutting by a year or two.

    The only exception to date was Kosovo â?? and that was a war against a race, not a country.

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