You’re right, probably England in the countryside is still mostly England, and it might be possible for those people to think what we read about London, Manchester, and so on, is not true.

If this is not true, what explanation is there for authorities’ hiding the known-to-police Islamist connection of the Southport killer, or for throwing people who point out the problem in jail?

Maybe a few should be indicted for destruction of govt records, and evidence.
But it’s better for mass firings first, then rebuilding small effective teams, and only third mass lawfare. Like Tulsi firing 100 NSA trans sex chatterers, rather than any charges.

In Charles Dicken’s Martin Chuzzlewit the protagonist more than once encounters Americans explaining to him that Queen Victoria lives in the Tower of London, and telling him he is mistaken when he says she doesn’t.

This is about how you sound to us. I’m not sure why foreigners who read about us from across the ocean love to tell us all about who we are and what we do, and then say we’re misinformed or living in an echo chamber when we dispute the characterizations, but I’m sure you’ve dealt at some point–perhaps in these very comments–with foreigners doing the same thing to you, and thought it silly.

Isn’t that just as true in England inside much smaller geographical area? There are two predominate cultures– traditional and progressive. And I suspect that’s also true of England as well. Many commenters on this blog see the benefit of traditional values that come from a long history of Judeo/Christian teachings/traditions.

What is your primary source of news about the United States? That is going to skew your perspective if it’s from legacy/mainstream media and you’re really getting your concept of America through a very progressive lens with their own notion of good/bad, moral/immoral. Example is gender dysphoria. Progressives view this as a civil right which requires society/culture to adapt. Traditionalists see this as a psychological/emotional disorder that should be treated to help these people heal/cope.

As to economic issues like tariffs, President Trump has made it clear that we want reciprocal trade with a manufacturing base here that supports a healthy job market. If Europeans decided they can’t adapt to that and embrace more trade with China– they will come to the same conclusion we have, that China is not a good trading partner. What’s interesting is the EU currently trades about $750 billion with China and has a $235 billion trade deficit. The US total trade with China is about $950 billion and has a $235 billion trade deficit.

I noticed that Spain is expanding a port with a direct rail line into Europe for Chinese EV’s. That despite the tariff’s you already have on Chinese cars. Obviously China thinks they can continue to increase their market share.

Here’s the rates:
BYD: 17% (total tariff: 27%)

Geely: 18.8% (total tariff: 28.8%)

SAIC: 35.3% (total tariff: 45.3%)

Other Cooperating Producers: 20.7% (total tariff: 30.7%)—applies to firms like Tesla, BMW, or Volkswagen producing in China that cooperated with the probe but weren’t sampled.

Non-Cooperating Producers: 35.3% (total tariff: 45.3%)—for Chinese EV makers that didn’t assist the investigation.

Tesla (Individual Rate): 7.8% (total tariff: 17.8%)—Tesla, exporting from Shanghai, received a lower rate after requesting an individual calculation.

I don’t know about you, but a 30-45% tariff seems like a pretty high barrier, but the Chinese think they can work around that.

Let’s talk about American/European manufactured cars. Currently the EU imposes a 10% tariff on American cars.

Currently we impose a 2.5% tariff on European cars. While we don’t have a VAT tax, we do have a sales tax, applied at the time of purchase, but the highest sales tax in the US is 9.7%, compared to Germany’s VAT of 19%. Since the VAT or sales tax is applied after the tariff is added to the value of the car, this amounts to an additional cost differential between the EU and US tariffs.

Was once on an overland trek of PNG – coast to coast – with some Ozzies & Brits. One of the Brits worked for BBC Radio, and one evening in the jungle I asked him if the BBC produced a version of the BBC World News broadcast, for just the USA market. He angrily responded/ sputtered: Of course not – and I was met with disapproving looks all around.

Then I told him that the reason I asked is because every broadcast seems to include multiple USA stories; which struck me as out of proportion to the number of countries in the world. He then softly responded: That’s true, and we do that because people always want to know what is going on in the USA – and that was met with knowing looks all around.

On my way out of a country I like to purchase liquor and cigarettes manufactured/ sold in that country – often purchase a separate duffle as well to carry home – and gravitate towards products not available for purchase in the USA.

When I return home, I invite friends over for HH to share the liquor and cigarettes – and stories from my notebook. Have a habit of carrying: Matches, Postcard with USA map, Pen & Pocket-sized reporter’s notebook – in a zip lock bag.

I tend to head out to the proverbial “four corners”/ BFE, and I am often the only American around. And It does not matter where I am – continent/ country – and who I am trekking & climbing/ drinking & dining with – Young: uni students, backpackers, etc./ Adults: uni professors, professionals, etc. – they all want to tell me all about the USA. I use my notebook to capture the most bat shxt crazy stories that I am told about the USA – and at the time, I am usually the only one who understands how crazy they are.

I’ll add that I do not try to refute their stories – I’m on holiday – and usually avoid laughing too. However, my friends and I do tend to laugh quite a bit when I read my notebook entries – I’m sure the liquor helps too.

• The @ David Clayton comments in this thread remind me of the above – interest and misinformation/ misunderstanding.

• I’ll add that I was always far more interested in what was happening in the country I was in, and in the countries my fellow travelers were from – but had decidedly mixed results trying to discuss non-USA topics (Natives: Yes/ Westerners: No).

• Would welcome more @ David Clayton comments about what is happening in his country ^^ – Freedoms, Corruption, Immigration, etc. – understanding that he does not speak for all citizens.

^^ = I consume a fair amount of news & commentary, but recognize the limitations of not “living it” myself, and the opportunity to “listen & learn”