Hi M.Ted. Now don't shoot me for this (I'd rather swap chords with you than argue politics) but your comment to Mooh:

"I think that it is rather presumptous and impertinent of him, (and others) to make the assumption that they understand our culture and laws so well as to be able to demand changes of us--but that is just my opinion--"

makes me wonder about something. Lets assume (and this might not be the case here) that someone from another country has read widely, has a strong grasp on political documents, is articulate enough to present cohesive thoughts on a number of subjects not directly related to themselves...well you get the idea. Is that person's opinion not as (or more) valid than someone smack dab in the middle of a situation, with limited understanding of how Govt. works, and perhaps a hair-trigger to boot? (you gotta admit, all countries have lots of those)

Just from personal experience, I've found that very few Canadians have a clue about their OWN constitution, can barely name the last 5 Prime Ministers...and some even think that the QUEEN (of all people) has a say in our affairs! I'd be the first to admit that an American (or Ozzie, or Brit) with an education and a bit of study time would know more about my country than the average citizen who may be operating on emotion alone. I especially think that the opinions of an INFORMED observer shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, simply because they aren't a resident.

I think for the most part the opinions in this thread are pretty well thought out, and I tend to give them equal credence...whatever country they come from. I even managed to do that in the recent "Canajun" threads!

Rick