as an australian and thus vaguely impartial, i think both anti-americanism from europeans and vice versa is ridiculous. there's a lot to hate america for, but there's also a lot to admire about it- same for all countries. which is why to hear an anti-globalisation protestor blaming everything on the US is equally as retarded as leno making a joke about the french military. anyone who talks and thinks in extremes is demonstrating their insecurity and limited intellect. who's ever met a smart and happy racist?

to say that no one in europe could build an america is silly- the british, the spanish, the french, the dutch and the portuguese all built empires at one stage in the not too distast past. however, america is an empire in a different sense, not through owning land but through economic dominance. the dow goes up and the australian all ord's follows. obviously, you could nuke us pretty easy as well, which is why we're so friendly, so the nukes are on our side. [segway- say a south-east asian country invades us, what are the chances of the US actually coming to help?]

i'm not sure about the military history of ww2, but to say america won it for europe is too strong a statement. besides, no matter what it contributed, america definitely got the better deal post ww2 than any other country. ww2 helped it become the most powerful nation on earth.

either way, it'll be pretty interesting when in about 20 years time either china or india becomes the world's dominant economic power.