BBC and All; Still I haven't read the infamous thread. I would however like to applaud you, BBC for stating what i learned long ago as a sailor. If you don't want to be viewed as the proverbial "Ugly American" treat others as you wish to be treated whereever you go and try to learn a little about the culture. Do we in America, consume more food than other countries? Yes. We also produce more. We export a large percentage of what we grow. As a nation we also tend to be the first to dig deep in the pockets when a natural disaster devastates someone else. And by the way, not to overdo the horn blowing thing, America's Marshall plan rebuilt Europe and Japan after the second world war. Yes we have our faults and they can be numerous at times but let's try to tone down the rhetoric and try to avoid these unpleasant misuunderstandings. reguards to all, Neil