What it says about our country is that we're willing to take it up the arse whenever the US asks.

Pot, kettle, black. We have just as many simpleton, officious and useless procedures that will do nothing to prevent terrorism in our own airports as they do. I believe we were the first introduce the ban on the horrifying bottle of water, and we were the first to introduce nudity scanners.

We do have many of the same immigration requirements as the US, and our officious immigration officers are just as willing to return them whence they came. I witnessed one poor women, who's only crime was taking a trip to Paris and not realising that traveling through Europe for one month less than her British passport stamp authorised her to, was enough suspicious activity and proof of her intent to emigrate illegally to have her deported.

No one can deny our own country is far worse in terms of rights, surveillance and so on. Shit we just passed laws that say it's fine to lock people up if they look at the wrong type of drawing.

But the thing that annoys me the most is that we seem overly willing to place the blame of the activities of their government on the general population. Don't know if any of you actually met any Americans, but very few of those that I work with agree with most of the things their government does.

Ah yes, but its their fault for electing them in the first place. Well fine, then everything Tony Blair, Gordon Brown or indeed any member of parliament has done is your fault too. You elected them after all. No, I don't want to hear that you didn't vote for them, after all less than 50% of Americans voted for GW, and you're willing to saddle them all with the blame for everything he does.

No, what I see is when someone comes up with a legitimate argument, one that correctly shows how pompous and self opinionated you are, you simply respond with more of the same rubbish.

If American citizens are responsible for everything their government does, then equally British citizens are responsible for everything our government does. Including the invasion of Iraq and a one-way trade of personal information.