Incidentally, I do appreciate that France is a First World country. My post is pretty messy, argument-wise, which may be related to the whole 3am thing - it's easier to illustrate the reasons for Big Macs and Coke being seen as glamorous with examples from countries like Romania, but I do think that the ambivalent feelings expressed towards the US in other, wealthier countries have the same underlying reasons. Only, especially at present, wedded to an awareness of some pretty messy political situations, and a pattern of "Fuck You" messages being sent from the US during Dubya's reign thus far. (Kyoto agreement et al.) It's a tangled thing, this mix of emotion and intellect, aspiration and envy and resentment and disdain.

Colonialism is no less colonial, imho, for its being waged by Multinational corporations rather than Nations. An awful lot of these Multinationals are based in the US. Identity becomes blurred. It's messy.

And I'm really not expressing myself well.

edited for clarity. Not all that successfully, I fear.

I think you did just fine Fay.

Oh, no, I didn't mean mature thoughtful people, just the teens and students who see it as a cool way to cut class and then run to the latest American flick.

As for the Coke and McDonald's boycotts and all, I don't know why people think some sugar water or fried potatoes mean anything except that the company that makes them started randomly in a certain country. They try it in America, too: Haagen-Dazs is from New Jersey and so is Heineken, and they try and get the cachet of Europe going. Of course, most people are in on the truth and call it Hoboken-Daz.

I guess what annoys some Americans is that Europe made a choice and now seems mad that we didn't go the same way. After two wars of violence that Americans really can't comprehend, they decided to spend their money on social justice and a subsidized lifestyle-free health care, free college, cheap housing, etc. Fine. But America decided to keep its muscles strong, and let everybody choose their own doctors and houses and go their own way, which for a majority works well. And we used a lot of that muscle, and a lot of money we could have used here, to stop Europe from being nibbled away by a horrible facist regime. It's OK, that's what friends do, and the benefits flow both ways. But now it's seen that Europe doesn't want us to use our hard-won military might to free another people. There's also nasty undercurrents of anit-Semitism in some of what you see over here, especially from France.

I do feel sorry for the Brits, though. They;re no longer a superpower, which must suck already, and now all their former colonies, from Iraq to Palestine to Zimbabwe, seem to be in a mess. No wonder they're so nervous about America making the same mistakes they did. I guess they don't realize we have no intention of taking over anything.

But America decided to keep its muscles strong, and let everybody choose their own doctors and houses and go their own way, which for a majority works well.

I'd just like to say that Caroma isn't speaking for all of us Americans. Many of whom haven't gotten a chance to choose our own doctors since our employers switched to HMOs.

But now it's seen that Europe doesn't want us to use our hard-won military might to free another people.

Actually, Europe didn't try to stop *us* doing it. They just wouldn't vote for the *UN* to do it. And it's hardly "Europe": last I checked, the UK, and (God help us) Bulgaria, and other bits of "the new Europe" support the war. Unfortunately for President Bush, France, which has a U.N. veto, does not.

Actually, do you know that Bush as President has no power about Kyoto? In this country, Congress ratifies treaties, not the Pres. Now, you could argue that if he really really wanted to, he could have lobbied for it, but frankly from what I understand it's a mess to begin with (exempting China?!) but not even Clinton bothered to try to push for it.

And when the Senate did vote on it, they voted it down 99-0, Democrats and Republicans alike. And the UK Parliament didn't pass it either, right? In fact, didn't only Romania actually ratify the thing?

So, while he could have been more tactful about it, I don't see how Bush can be blamed for this one.

There's also nasty undercurrents of anit-Semitism in some of what you see over here,

I refer you to any of Pat Buchanan's recent outbursts against the war. Or, I'm sure, Farrakhan's, although I haven't seen any cited.

Anti-Semitism, like racism, pops up all over, like crabgrass or bamboo. Damn bamboo.

Well, sure, but nobody takes Buchanan or Farrakhan seriously. There's no rallies for Buchanan, he's not in office, and there's not gangs of teenagers going to Williamsburg and beating up Hasidic kids.

nobody takes Buchanan or Farrakhan seriously

Buchanan was the keynote speaker for the [sorry, 1992] Republican National Convention. I assure you Bob Dole hasn't forgotten that.

I'd just like to say that Caroma isn't speaking for all of us Americans. Many of whom haven't gotten a chance to choose our own doctors since our employers switched to HMOs.

Some of us can't even go to a doctor because we aren't employed. We get a bad case of the flu and we're screwed.

Actually, do you know that Bush as President has no power about Kyoto? In this country, Congress ratifies treaties, not the Pres. Now, you could argue that if he really really wanted to, he could have lobbied for it, but frankly from what I understand it's a mess to begin with (exempting China?!) but not even Clinton bothered to try to push for it.

He has no power to ratify it true. He does have power to negotiate it, rather than throw in the towel.

Me too, I'm also unemployed with no insurance. But aside from covering the most desperately poor and the elderly, we just don't seem interested. All the more reason for me to find a decent job. But it's damn hard. I'm paying for basic hospitalization coverage so I don't lose my house if something happens. I dunno, Heather, if presidents as diverse as Clinton and Bush both didn't bother much with this treaty, and no country save Romania has ratified it, just maybe the problem's with the treaty?