True U.S. allies

[MarkDel]

CWelsh,

That looks like a pretty good list, except I would remove Canada at this point.

[MarkDel]

Britain, Japan, Australia, Israel, most of Eastern Europe.  That's about it.

Italy as long as the current government stays in power...after that, who knows.

[MarkDel]

I think you mistake anti-Bush sentiment for anti-Americanism.

I think you mistake anti-Americanism for anti-Bush sentiment.

Indeed. I was in Europe pre-9/11 and it was every bit as bad then.

[MarkDel]

Not true. I know several Americans living in the UK and they encounter little if any trouble. Brits are not Anti-American whatsoever, they just don't like Bush. They don't like the whole gun-slinging, Texan cowboy business. It unsettles us a bit.
It's amazing actually the amount of air-time given to the US election in Britain. It's on the news practically every day.

It's on the news everyday because European media and governments are beginning to use the United States as a "boogeyman" in the same way Arab states have for decades. By focusing on the US, your leaders and media distract you from the fact that your own countries are falling apart around you.

[MarkDel]

I think you mistake anti-Bush sentiment for anti-Americanism.

I think you mistake anti-Americanism for anti-Bush sentiment.

Indeed. I was in Europe pre-9/11 and it was every bit as bad then.

Which country? I don't see much evidence of anti-americanism in Britain and I live here. The only thing I see is a dislike of Bush, but probably no more than you see in Massachussetts of Rhode Island.

England and Ireland, as well as much of mainland Europe. Anti-Americanism was lowest in England, but still present. France was ludicrous, as was Germany, and this was in 1999 long before George W. Bush.

[MarkDel]

Not true. I know several Americans living in the UK and they encounter little if any trouble. Brits are not Anti-American whatsoever, they just don't like Bush. They don't like the whole gun-slinging, Texan cowboy business. It unsettles us a bit.
It's amazing actually the amount of air-time given to the US election in Britain. It's on the news practically every day.

It's on the news everyday because European media and governments are beginning to use the United States as a "boogeyman" in the same way Arab states have for decades. By focusing on the US, your leaders and media distract you from the fact that your own countries are falling apart around you.

Actually the UK media is highly critical of the British government and it's foreign policy. Our media does nothing BUT run down the UK! I'd really like to know how showing the Democratic convention on TV is trying to turn the US into a boogeyman???!!! Paranoia or what!

It's not the fact that it's covered, it's the amount of coverage and the way it is covered. The editorial is decidedly anti-Bush, and to a lesser extent, subtly anti-American. If European nations spent more time worrying about themselves instead of what WE ARE DOING IN THE US then you might actually have single digit unemployment rates.

[MarkDel]

I think you mistake anti-Bush sentiment for anti-Americanism.

I think you mistake anti-Americanism for anti-Bush sentiment.

Indeed. I was in Europe pre-9/11 and it was every bit as bad then.

Which country? I don't see much evidence of anti-americanism in Britain and I live here. The only thing I see is a dislike of Bush, but probably no more than you see in Massachussetts of Rhode Island.

England and Ireland, as well as much of mainland Europe. Anti-Americanism was lowest in England, but still present. France was ludicrous, as was Germany, and this was in 1999 long before George W. Bush.

Mark, same here.  I was in Europe just two months before 9/11 and they treated us like crap.  We had to say that we were Canadian if we expected any help from the locals.

Supersoulty,

I'll never go back to mainland Europe...EVER. Unless of course it's part of an invasion force...LOL

I will go back to England/Ireland/Scotland, but I do not have the absolute love for those places that I once did.

[MarkDel]

It's on the news everyday because European media and governments are beginning to use the United States as a "boogeyman" in the same way Arab states have for decades. By
It's not the fact that it's covered, it's the amount of coverage and the way it is covered. The editorial is decidedly anti-Bush, and to a lesser extent, subtly anti-American. If European nations spent more time worrying about themselves instead of what WE ARE DOING IN THE US then you might actually have single digit unemployment rates.

Mark, the UK has far lower unemployment than the US!!!!
It was about 3% last time I checked. In some places it's barely 1%!

I thought it was more like 5% the last time I checked, but I could be wrong. I am referring to places like France and Germany more than England.

[MarkDel]

Mark, same here.  I was in Europe just two months before 9/11 and they treated us like crap.  We had to say that we were Canadian if we expected any help from the locals.

Oh get real! Which country please?!
Europe is not ONE country you know. Anyway, you think YOU get treated like crap, try being an Englishman in Scotland! Try being German anywhere but in Germany and try being English in Paris! Then you'll know the meaning of the word 'treated like crap'. Americans don't have a monopoly on being disliked you know, most countries harbour some dislike of eachother. In England people even hate other counties! Yorkshire-Lancashire anyone?!

Then perhaps you guys need to become a bit less angry. Foreign tourists are treated like ing royalty in this country...I know, I used to be one of the people dumb enough to actually believe that the rest of the world would treat me as well when I traveled to their country. Man was I naive...

[MarkDel]

Mark, yes I agree with you. Europeans really could learn a lot from the US when it comes to politeness, hospitality and customer service. I've been to New York a few times and found the people insufferably polite and helpful. Sadly this is not the case in many European countries and the UK is no exception. I don't know why this is, however it's nothing new.
You shouldn't assume this is because you're American, I just think in general Europeans are ruder. The most unfriendly place I've ever been was Milan! I got ripped-off, chased by a drug-addict and ignored countless times in shops and restaurants.

The reason people are more polite in the United States is because our culture is more violent than yours. That may sound counter-intuitive, but it's the real reason we are more polite. In the United States, you never know who is walking around with a gun in his jacket, and hence you are far more polite, because the guy you treat like sh*t might just take exception and blow your damn head off. You ever been to a gun range? The most polite damn group of people you'll EVER be around. That's why people are more polite in places like Texas and Florida, where regular people are far more likely to have a gun,  than they are in New York or Washington, DC where the only people who have guns are cops and criminals.

[MarkDel]

Anti-Americanism in Canada varies a lot... in the B.C Interior and on Vancouver Island it's all to do with the logging wars with the U.S and nothing to do with foreign policy... while "Anti-Americanism" amoung the intellectual elite is for fashion reasons (and you get in it most countries. And for a long time) and in addition to that you have traditional Anti-Americanism in the Atlantic Provinces, which dates back to the C18th.

Over here, there's a lot of fashionable "Anti-Americanism" in the Muesli Belt and all that, but generally we like Americans.
Especially your money

I agree about the "fashionable" anti-Americanism to which you refer. That certainly seems to be the case in England, but it's far deeper than that in Canada, and believe me, I have spent A LOT of time in Canada over the past 30 years. I grew up less than a two hour drive from the Canadian border, so I made my first visit there as an 8-year old and have been there dozens of times, even living there for a six-month stint when I got older due to business reasons. Canada has changed PROFOUNDLY over the years, and not for the better. At this point, there entire national identity is based on their hatred of America. The only thing they have in common (the provinces are very, very different) is their hatred of America...it seems to be how they now express their national identity and pride. It's actually kind of sad and laughable in a way.

[MarkDel]

Canada has changed PROFOUNDLY over the years, and not for the better.

Wow is that ever true! I grew up two hours from the border (in Michigan) and my family used to go into Canada a couple of times a month just for a drive and BECAUSE Canadians were SO friendly. I'm talking about the late 1950's through the early 1970's here. I had not been in Canada in about 25 years when I went across during a visit to Niagara Falls with my family. What a change! They even wanted a passport but let us in on our New Mexico drivers licenses but not without really scolding us. I am afraid it will be a while before I do that again. What a needless hassle! BTW, we all had military IDs as well and probably could not be mistaken for terrorists by anybody. It is sad, really.

New Federalist,

Yeah, I made that trip over the border about 50 times over the years, maybe more. The difference between what is was like in 1980 to 1995 is amazing.