Battle of New Orleans took place after the war was over didn't it? Communication being a bit slow in those days. So it's not relevant to any discussion of who won. Good song anyway.

I can't help feeling that, if Canada had been incorporated in the United States as a result of the war, that would have been the big story.

What I find odd about all the U571 stuff is the tendency there seems to be for the American movie and TV industry to assume that if audiences are going to be able to relate to stories, they have to be Americanised in some way. It's the same thing that shows up in remaking sit-coms made in England in American versions. Or even cop-shows like Cracker.

I can't think of any case where it's gone the other way. It just seems a peculiar practice. Have the media business people got it right when they assume that most Americans can't tolerate non-American English?