The world is watching

And they're not horribly approving.

For example, look at the British. They used to admire the United States, and even looked to us as a "beacon of hope for the world". Not quite the case anymore. Now, 77 percent of those polled strongly disagree. Only 12 percent trust the US to act wisely in global affairs. Keep in mind that during Vietnam, that number was hovering right around 25 percent.

To be fair, the British don't really think that all Americans are hopeless. In fact, 70 percent of them like Americans to some extent. Unless you're in power. The American government is looking at the fact that over three-fourths of the people polled think that GDub is a "horrible leader" and two-thirds are fairly certain that the United States has shifted completely from being the isolationist country it was a century ago, into an imperialistic nation looking to expand it's territory. Of course, the British have absolutely no experience with imperialism and expansion of territory.

Basically, this poll points out that a lot of the British have many of the same criticisms as a lot of Americans. There is an overall lack of faith in what the Bush administration is capable of, and the tasks that have been accomplished seem futile in the face of greater issues.

Almost makes you wonder how Americans would rank Tony Blair? Wait... that's a silly question. Far too many Americans would respond with "Tony Who?"

Rest assured, though. The UK isn't the only place where there's discontent with the United States. North Korea is pretty upset about a number of things, including fly-overs (which they believe to be espionage), and the threat of a pre-emptive strike by the US. They've gone so far as to threaten that, if attacked, they will respond with nuclear strikes, with the intention of launching the planet into an atomic war.

And they're just crazy enough to do it.

It's kind of like handing the school bully a box of dynamite, and then yelling at him when he wants to prove that he has it. If you don't handle the situation carefully, he's going to just drop a match into that box and see what comes out of the ensuing chaos. It's just that this time, the bully has a perpetual frown, thick glasses, bizarre hair, and has starred in a Trey Parker movie.

But hey, Happy 230th Birthday, America!