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Stars and gripes

5 comments on Stars and gripes

Stars and gripes
: The London bureau chief of Newsweek, Stryker McGuire (a name that sounds like a character that should be played by Robert Urich), disses his country — our country — in (where else?) the Guardian. In the most back-handed of back-handed compliments he says that anti-Americanism is on the wane in London, but only after turning 9/11 into a back-handed insult:

At the time [September 11th] I remember the American playwright (and London resident) Bonnie Greer saying – hoping – that if any good were to come out of 9/11 it would be that the terror attacks might ‘literally bomb’ America into recognising that there is a world beyond US shores.

No such luck….

But there’s good news. It is nicely summed up by, of all people, a Frenchman, the philosopher-champion of counter-conventional wisdom Bernard-Henri Levy. Anti-Americanism, he says, is a boring clich

5 responses to “Stars and gripes”

  1. old maltese Avatar
    old maltese

    I heard Levy on Dennis Prager’s radio show a few days ago.
    He is *very* sharp, much sharper than these ex-pat Americans.

  2. Factfinder Avatar
    Factfinder

    This is from the Observer – the very separately run Sunday sister title to the Guardian. You can tell by the URL, the prominent branding on the page. A blog (where else?) gets it wrong again?

  3. Jeff Jarvis Avatar
    Jeff Jarvis

    “Fact”finder: splitting hairs. Same company. Sunday edition. I used to be Sunday editor of the NY Daily News. Separate editor, perhaps, but same basic box of noodles. Fine, so make it Observer instead of Guardian. Make it “the Guardian’s sunday edition, the Observer.” Doesn’t make the guy any less of an ass, does it?

  4. Lindon Parker Avatar
    Lindon Parker

    hmm, this is becoming a bit of a pattern. So anyone criticising the USA is “dis-ing”, and this by inference(mine) is a bad thing is it?
    No country is all good or all bad (mine or yours), but attacking commentary about a country just because it is negative, that’s a kind of cultural censorship is it not? Sure these comments may be wrong, and thus should be addressed, but I can’t see where you do address them….and that’s REALLY bad.

  5. Mark Avatar
    Mark

    Well let’s just say that Bonnie Greer’s (who ?) wish and desire has come true. I DID wake up after September 11th “literally bombed” into recognition of a world beyond these beautiful shores. For example, the world includes: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, the West Bank,the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iraq, Malaysia, Indonesia, Yemen, Qatar, Sudan, Algeria, Morrocco (shall I go on?)…..Upon waking up what I learned was this: Each and every country or geographical area listed above harbors a great many (dare I call them ?) “human beings” whose primary goal in life is to see my life and the lives of those I hold near and dear extinguished. Note to Bonnie and Michael: I’m AWAKE now, but in a very cranky mood. Best that we not share space in the same room with one another. Nobody would be able to guarantee your safety.