tsss tsss... take a break, drop by at http://www.thehotspotonline.com/thewurld/articles/Mosque.htm for a cup of mint tea and a chat with the locals when your in europe next... there are problem countries a-plenty around the world and in the middle east, thats for sure, but don't forget that in the view of most of the western world if only that, america is one of them, and pretty high on the list... europe chose to self-destruct a century ago, guess thats what befalls dying old empires, and that's 90% of why america has been on top for more than a half-century but it doesn't take a genius to see that the vast majority of todays europeans have learned from their elders' mistakes and things are a-changing... there is little trust in the US anymore, be it policy, markets, fairness (fair dealing), you name it... the american fish is now rotting from the head for all to see, the S&L debacle, the internet hype & bubble burst, the Katrina aftermath and now the subprime crisis that will leave even more profound scars into the system... some form of civil war soon wldn't surprise me... not that i am wishing that on anyone, not at all, but it seems not all that unlikely at this juncture... {yawn} am just saying... as you know i've chosen to live away from all this never-ending shit... where i am i've got arab mates, american mates, jewish mates, indian mates, black mates, armenian mates... matter of fact, we've all chosen to live away from this shit... cause its not our shit. its made up. i've lived in africa long enough as a kid attending completely mixed schools to know that even in much less favourable family environments (economically speaking) talent, humor, creativity, abstraction abilities etc have no color, no religion etc... and more than 15 years in asia south & north have taught me the same, not that i had any doubt... dialogue -> respect -> shared values -> communities of interest salam mate ;-) am late for drinks!