Guys, I was merely joking although Padraig seems to have used a similar sort of way of expressing himself which is gut (Padraig, ta suil agam go bhfuil tu i mbarr na slainte). :)

That Golden Arches theory was put in tongue-in-cheek sort of way by Tom Friedman. In any case, he now has a Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention and I am not telling you what it is because some of you are very serious. So if you want to, you will have to find it yourself. ;)

danon asked: "why almost ever time there is some sort of demonstration in a country where there is MD's the place gets trashed?"

Foodies of the world, unite!

Apologies for raising the dead, but this should be a class wedding reception:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/7418643.stm

A McDonald's spokeperson said the restuarant was "proud" to be the happy couple's destination of choice.

"We all know that weddings can be stressful and we're glad that the simple good value and great taste of our food is going to take some of the hassle out of their special day," he said.

He added the largest wedding order McDonald's has had was for 350 Fillet-o-Fish meals at its restaurant in Rushall, Walsall last October.

Words fail me.

I very very rarely eat at McDonald's here in the US. Living in a city, we have lots of great places I'd rather eat.

I have eaten at McDonalds in many countries over the years-- Portugal, France, Italy, Australia, Japan, others... Sometimes in train stations and sometimes elsewhere. These stops have usually been on longer trips (3 weeks or longer) when we just wanted something familiar.

Apologies for raising the dead (I like that line), there was a good special on MSNBC last night showing McDonald's in different countries and states. Some of the treats overseas looked pretty intersting. IF you need American coffee overseas this is the place to go and the desserts are better than inthe US. They also have great bathrooms.

Hi tinyteacup,

I agree that some items (especially desserts) are different than here at home. Some things are the same everywhere... we had McDonalds one night in Koenigsee and I must say, they got the order wrong just like at home.

Paul

McDonalds in Venice
MacDonalds. A Big Mac, Fries and Coke will set you back 7.60, but I’m not about to pass through the Golden Arches. Maccas are pleased to call this a Happy Meal, surely an oxymoron, up there with “friendly fire”, “military intelligence” and “fun run” on the oxymoron league table.