Thank you Sirrahbed, I admire your courage in sticking your fingers into this little hornets nest! Especially when the evidence against your views is so overwhelming.

I agree with you that one must be very careful in relying on the media for all these statements and statistics, but there are now so many of them, and so well documented, that there has to be some truth in them somewhere. As you say, it isn't hard to find articles full of negativity, but what do you think of all the hate and negativity coming from the Republicans? Just listen to what Dick Cheney, the Swift Boat Veterans or Zell Miller are saying! How condescending, primitive and hateful can you get? Not to mention false and misleading. What is all this Republican talk of "girlie men" and the shameless attacks on decorated war veterans then? Bush promised at the convention that in a second term he would continue to ensure that the rich get richer, no matter how many unfair tax breaks, wasteful military contracts or union-busting laws it takes.
The hypocrisy is astonishing.

You admit to being a bit "behind the times" as it were regarding telephones etc. but I'm afraid you are behind the times regarding global warming too. There is very little doubt left in the scientific community about what is happening there. (Those scientists who aren't on the payroll of a large Corporation that is).
To state that "Global warming is largely unknown and largely scientific theory" is not true. It's not "largely unknown" anymore, it's largely accepted as a real problem. And to say that it "makes a great movie though" is just superficial and condescending, and ignores the issue.

And pointing at the Soviet Union where they have next to no environmental controls for air, water, etc. does not in any way condone the actions of your own government.

I must also disagree over your argument that "Democrats are seen as being more concerned about the environment and so of course it must follow that President Bush does NOT care about". That is not a forgone conclusion, or at least a very weird argument, the facts seem to suggest very strongly that Bush is NOT taking the condition of our environment seriously.

You also state: "The article is nothing but propaganda. - I would not have to look far to find a similar article that states everything from an opposing viewpoint"
No, you wouldn't have to look far, but would the article be factual, or would it just be government/big business propaganda? Surely there can be bits of truth in both of them?

"Why are YOU picking on America anyway? You don't even live here do you? Are you American? Then come back and do something about what you are complaining about. If not, how about closing your mouth."

See! Now you've blown it! How disappointing. Typical Republican rant, a rather insulting remark. I am not American, I'm British, living in Denmark ("a small, insignificant country" to some Americans). I live in a society where there is freedom of speech and a reasonable degree of tolerance and compassion. It's called a democracy. Apparently your attitude is that if people say things you don't agree with, then they must "close their mouth". Not very democratic or tolerant I fear.
If you really want to know, I'll tell you exactly why I'm "picking on America" as you fallaciously put it. It is because your manipulative, secretive, possibly corrupt President and his administration are causing horrific problems for me and hundreds of millions of other people in the world. Are you aware of this? This administration wants globalization and deregulation of business, but doesn't want to have to respect other nations rights. They want to give huge Corporations the right to plunder and misuse the rights of the people for their own ends. This isn't just an American problem by any means, but America happens to be by far the biggest and most effective exponent of it.

If you think it's just me who's got a problem with this, here's a recent CNN news story:
Bush-bashing a favorite sport for Europeans

Or this from a recent poll:
The world wants President Bush out of the White House, according to a poll released on Wednesday that shows in 30 of 35 countries people preferred Democrat candidate John Kerry.
Kerry was particularly favored in traditionally strong U.S. allies and beat Bush on average by more than a two-to-one margin, 46 percent to 20 percent, the survey by GlobeScan Inc, a global research firm, and the University of Maryland, said.
"Only one in five want to see Bush re-elected. Though he is not as well known, Kerry would win handily if the people of the world were to elect the U.S. president," Steven Kull, director of the university's program on international policy attitudes, said.
Asked how the foreign policy of Bush has affected their feelings toward the United States, a majority or plurality of respondents in 30 countries said it made them feel worse about America, while in three countries more respondents said they felt better.

You can think that this is irrelevant or unimportant, and I'm sure you think it's none of my business, but as I said, hundreds of millions of people would not agree with you. Nor about half of America it appears.

Do you really not care at all what the rest of the world thinks of your country? Do you really think that other peoples opinions are irrelevant? Don't you want to regain the respect that has been lost under the Bush Administration? I'm sure that you are concerned for the fate of your children and the coming generations, don't all these claims concern you at all? When you see such conflicting statements don't you begin to wonder whether there may not be enough truth in them that they should be published and discussed, and that something has to be done about it? Or should we all just close our mouths and ignore it?

This is the Internet, a global communication form, let's keep the right for freedom of speech here at least.