Our businesses aren't state owned or run.

No, your state is business owned and run.

Sorry, I could not resist.

Seriously: Andy, Bitt and others pretty much said what I wanted to. However, let me stress this: not every complaint about American policy is a sign of animosity. I certainly don't hate USA, even less its citizens. We like the friendly giant, but we are wary of an elephant in a china shop, and we don't trust empire builders.

People here are rather well informed and don't tend to pass judgments based on prejudice. (A year or so ago an American here wrote that I was better informed about America than most of its inhabitants; I am proud if it, but I am a bit forced to be: quite often blunders of American policy affect me as much or more than those of 'my own' politicians.) So, our American friends (and I mean friends), don't react paranoically to out criticisms here: we share the world, and your country, by its own choice, has unproportional share of responsibility for the future of it. Try to listen here and there to a view from outside.

Cheers!
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