...quite a response there!! No need to worry, I left the US a good many years ago after 6 very enjoyable years there. I gather you view innocent Americans as a lot more important than people of other nations which is fair enough I suppose depending on your view of humanity. I don't think it was suggested Pinochet should be tried in either the UK or the US but in Spain where he was accused of murdering innocents. all we (the British) had to do was send him there but we are government was too craven to do that. The facts would seem to indicate that he was responsible for the deaths of many, not unlike Saddam Hussein who I recall everyone was pleased to see the back of (when he wasn't "our a**hole"" at least). I have no problem with the...

...when that great protector of human rights and all round nice guy Pinochet was allowed to leave Britain and return home rather than face extradition on charges of mass murder on compassionate grounds the silence fromt he US was deafening. Not exactly the same circumstances I know but does demonstrate a wee bit of a double standard wouldn't you say???

...on reflection I remember that we did learn about the 'Scramble for Africa' in history lessons (apologies for that but it was quite a while a go!!), colonialism by European nations was seen as one of the major causes behind WW1 (and then indirectly for WW2).

I think in earlier times UK children would have been taught that this colonialism was purely a good thing and any unpleasantness carried out in its name was perfectly justifiable. This is where people might compare that attitude to that held by some Americans.

..but UK school kids ae taught very little about their countries 'former greatness', even in the 80s when I was a school we were taught predominantly European history.
Any mention of Empire this days will always be tinged with guilt with the English being the 'bad guys', rather like it is in Hollywood!!!

...as a Brit who spent 6 years living in the States in the 90s I think you can expect to be told the IRA were 'Freedom Fighters', as they say "one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter". It was a debate I got into on many occasions, ignorance of the facts behind the 'Troubles' were staggering particularly by those who professed to have knowledge.

...I have always doubted the guilt of Megrahi, I think he was set up by his own government and was a convenient patsy for the UK government (not the first time innocent people have been imprisoned for terrorists acts in the UK), it seem shighly dubious to me that in getting released he has had to drop all appeals against his conviction thereby basically admitting his guilt, once he dies it will be seen as a closed book thereby avoiding any awkward questions for the Libyans, UK and US especially now we are all the best of chums. Just a theory but I think there is a lot more to this 'behind the scenes'.
All that having been said, if he were guilty he should not have been released.

...how is Ortega, unpleasant though he might be, a dictator? That seems to be a word bandied about on these pages with very little substantive fact to back it up. He is certainly less of a dictator than Pinochet was yet he seemed to get the full support of the US government (as indeed did Saddam Hussein). Presumably any only 'leftists' can be dictators (even when they are elected)???

...that elections are only valid when the ally of Anerica is elected. When countries with a sizeable portion of the population who feel, rightly or wrongly, that they might benefit from a more leftwing government express themselves at the ballot box then obviously there must have been some dubious practices at work. Really the only solution is to allow only citizens with a certain degree of wealth to vote, it's the best way to ensure democracy and freedom are allowed to flourish.

...just bloody well leave our teeth out of it!!!!

...with the main crux of Edward from Texas message but any post that maligns Bono is ok in my book!!!