Well, Cyndi, I really do understand your point of view,because I grew up in the States and still have wonderful friends there. But having lived half my life in Europe I understand perfectly why the US is resented and feared by most of the world. In a recent poll the Dutch were asked who they considered a greater threat to world peace: Bush or Osama Bin Laden. You can guess what the result was, but don't think its blind hatred or irrational jealousy that caused the Dutch to vote against Bush, they truely feel that the man and his policies are a threat which they can in no way influence (think Kyoto and global warming for example, has caused very bad feelings here), but which has negatively affected their lives, and may ultimately destroy them. I will not go into detail here and now, and its not my intention to steer this thread entirely off topic, but I do feel there needs to be dialogue between the States and the rest of the world if the "shoot-em-up-cowboy-and-the-devil-take-the-rest" image is to be disproved. And, of course, the good salt-of-the-earth people of a country and the government are two very different things, that's true of any country in the world!

cheers,

Philibeg