I Love This Country, But

Facts Are Subversive. Subversive Of The Claims Made By Democratically Elected Leaders As Well As Dictators, By Biographers And Autobiographers, Spies And Heroes, Torturers And Post-modernists. Subversive Of Lies, Half-truths, Myths; Of All Those "easy Speeches That Comfort Cruel Men.

That Said, The Question Remains: How To Strike The Balance Between Free Speech And Mutual Respect In This Mixed-up World, Both Blessed And Cursed With Instant Communication? We Should Not Fight Fire With Fire, Threats With Threats.

After Saying Yes To Turkey, The Eu Is Having Difficulty Finding Clear And Consistent Grounds For Saying No To Other, Still More Remote Candidates - But Being In The General Vicinity Of Europe Does Seem To Be A Continuing Requirement.

Ordinary Americans, And Especially The Small Minority Active In Democrat And Republican Primaries, Must Learn More Of What People Across The Globe Are Thinking And Saying About The Us. For If You Follow That, You Realise That The Erosion Of American Power Is Happening Faster Than Most Of Us Predicted -- While The Politicians In Washington Behave Like Rutting Stags With Locked Antlers.

Canadians Tend To Be A Bit More Religious Than Most Europeans - Though Not More Than The Poles Or Ukrainians. Most Important, Their Attitude To Immigration And Ethnic Minorities Is More Positive Than That Of Most Europeans.