With allies like these . . .

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Helle Dale WINCHESTER, England. --Americans who have found comfort in the solidarity of the Anglo-Saxon nations, in the unshakable spirit of our British allies as the United States faces the prospect of another Gulf War, may want to think again. Having just spent a week in England listening to bitter and angry complaints about American policy on Iraq, I can report of levels of anti-Americanism unsuspected by most in the United States. It is a mood of whiny petulance that is deeply unflattering for the British, a nation with otherwise proud traditions of fighting and winning wars.

It should be said that generally New Year in Britain 2003 was a depressing experience. Floods, caused by constant rain and blamed on global warming (what else?) have turned fields into lakes and basements into swimming pools in southern England. Politically, the country is a mess. Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair's popularity is nosediving, and the Conservative Party has almost completely disappeared from public view. Consumer spending over Christmas was disappointing; house prices are widely expected to fall; and the manufacturing sector is headed towards recession, according to the Financial Times

A fitting symbol of Britain's national malaise was the embarrassing failure on New Year's Eve of BBC's Radio 4 to fulfill the simple yet traditional task of broadcasting the twelve midnight strokes of Big Ben. As revelers impatiently waited to break into "Auld Lang Syne," a voice came on the air, announcing sheepishly that due to technical difficulties, the BBC had not been able to broadcast the familiar chimes. We did not even make it into 2003 on time. more

-- Anonymous, January 08, 2003


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