graemec wrote:We tend to be a bit more laid back.
Shrinks not quite so popular,
Drugs for pre-teens not as freely given,
People getting shot not a nightly event.
Having a cop pull a gun on you not a almost 100% guaranteed event when you get pulled over.

The level of paranoia not as great.
The though that our country can fix the worlds wrongs, not as uppermost in our minds.
Free medical aid in hospitals taken for granted.
Smaltz on tv not quite as prevalent.
Hell, you're pretty much on the mark with those!
A couple of you brought up guns in the U.S., and here's my attempt to clear something up to the world about our guns:
Here's the "thing":
I know a LOT of stupid people who own guns. That being said, us smart people are compelled to own guns, to protect ourselves from the idiots WITH guns.
Most people who do own guns, have no idea what our "2nd Amendment" really means. I'll give you a quick and dirty breakdown of our "2nd Amendment":
It's a part of our Constitution's Bill of Rights, those documents we hold dearly written by gentlemen who got pissed off at King George one day, and decided to toss a bunch of tea into Boston Harbor...
So basically, it says we should all have the right to own guns. HOWEVER, beyond that is where the confusion for most people arise. The idea was that we should own guns NOT to protect ourselves against our neighbors, but so that if the government got too bad, we could all ban together, march to Washington, and toss out a rotten government. Most idiots who own guns don't even know that.
Problem is, that was 1776, not the 20th century. It was written before tanks, airplanes, and, of course, nuclear weapons. You can no longer grab a bunch of people, march to Washington, toss the President out the window, and start all over.
So what does this mean? Our beloved 2nd Amendment is completely meaningless, it's only on paper, a nice display beyond the window for something that isn't even sold anymore. So what do we do? REGULATE the heck out of it. Makes us feel better since we just can't break out the eraser and remove it...
So, although it lets pretty much every escaped mental institution maniac own one, it's movement, and usage is extremely regulated.
In many States, if you so even flash a gun, the cops will arrest you. A good example is what happened recently to a shop owner over in the New England part of the States (where I happen to be originally from by the way!). Someone broke into his shop, he pulled out a gun, fired a few warning shots, and HE got taken to jail right alongside the burglar for unlawful discharge of a weapon.
On top of that, let's say you own a gun in one State, put it in the trunk (boot) of your car, forget about it, drive into another State, and get pulled over by the police. Well, if he decides to search your car, and finds the gun, guess what? For the most part, there's a good chance you'll get your arse arrested because you don't have the proper "permits" for taking it into the other State.
So, as you can see, the Gov. really doesn't want us to have guns, but we just can't get rid of that 2nd Amendment either.
On another note, for some weird reason, I know a lot of sportbikers that carry guns. Truth be told, they're mostly younger, and, to be totally blunt, not that bright. I almost always make fun of them when I find out, and say things like, "Oh yeah, those roads out there in them hills are pretty tough! Did you see the movie, "Hills Have Eyes"???"
So, there you have a synopsis on the whole gun thing in the U.S.!
Apart from that to be honest not much is that different when you get it down to the person to person level
Just bear in mind the crocodile hunter was hyped up on adrenalin and was a bit of a tool really, but he did marry a yank so...
Australia has a ton of great rock bands not just Men @ Work but then again that depends on if you actually LIKE rock
INXS, ( brilliant) ACDC (ho-hum, Yawn), The BeeGees (Barf...) (Powderfinger, Silverchair, Greenday(pretty bloody good)
Nick Cave and the Badseeds (Pass me that knife will you old chap my wrists need slashing) Etc Etc.
Ozzie's are kicking ass on the underground dance front (my kind of tunes)
The list is endless there
So there ya go, just bear in mind we have a population of 20 million to your 275 million so we are not quite as developed in the nuttiness stakes heheh
Yeah, we do understand the Croc Man, was a bit hyper! ....but we loved him anyway...
Hey, what about Midnight Oil?!!!

I loved Diesel and Dust when I was a kid, heard the lead singer went into your Parliament too!