Average Brit has more income now than the average American

This would have to come from the BBC, because the American news media does not tell Americans they are no longer "number one."

The average UK person will this year have a greater income than their US counterpart for the first time since the 19th Century, figures suggest.

Here's the details:

Analyst Oxford Economics said the UK's GDP per head of population will reach £23,500 - £250 higher than in the US.

However, because goods and services are cheaper in the US, Americans will have stronger purchasing power, it added.

UK GDP per capita will also be higher than in Germany (£21,665) and France (£21,700), Oxford Economics calculated.

Managing director Adrian Cooper said: "The last 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UK's economic performance and its position in the world economy. [Snip]

Oxford Economics said that in 1993, following the last major recession and the UK's ejection from the ERM, GDP per capita in the UK was 34% lower than in the US, 33% lower than in Germany and 26% lower than in France.

It said the improved UK position reflected the sustained strong growth it has enjoyed since then and the recent strength of sterling.

Mr Cooper said: "The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001, so it is a well-established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations."

Remember when Reaganomics were going to make all Americans rich? Guess what? The Labor Party in the UK has been in control since 1997, and the 1997 defeat of the conservatives resulted largely from the disasters that Thatcherism caused, leading to sharply increased unemployment and the eviction of a million householders from their homes.

The UK has demonstrated that a modern government run by the Labor Party is more effective than one run on Monarchical principles by corporate leaders. We've seen in America that a government run by corporate leaders is a disaster. The Progressives and union leaders can't possibly be as bad and the Republicans and their fellow-traveler corporatist Democrats.

Religion, Culture not cause of violence in ME

Interesting poll here. The Program on International Policy Attitudes polls world-wide on various issues and periodically issues reports. The one I found particularly interesting is the worldwide poll asking whether violent conflict is inevitable between Islam and the West.

(The questions and methodology are found here.)

This was a "...survey of over 28,000 respondents across 27 countries conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan together with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland....between November 2006 and January 2007."

This poll is obviously questioning whether worldwide public opinion and current events supports the thesis of Samuel P. Huntington's book:

Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Dr. Huntington proposes that the clash beteen the West and the Islamic Middle East will result in a violent confrontation.

The result of the poll is that worldwide opinions do not support Huntington.

"The global public believes that tensions between Islam and the West arise from conflicts over political power and interests and not from differences of religion and culture, according to a BBC World Service poll across 27 countries. [Snip]

"The poll also reveals that most people see the problems arising from intolerant minorities and not the cultures as a whole. While 26 percent believe fundamental differences in cultures are to blame, 58 percent say intolerant minorities are causing the conflict – with most of these (39% of the full sample) saying that the intolerant minorities are on both sides.

"The idea that violent conflict is inevitable between Islam and the West is mainly rejected by Muslims, non-Muslims and Westerners alike. While more than a quarter of all respondents (28%) think that violent conflict is inevitable, twice as many (56%) believe that “common ground can be found.”

Since modern conservatives are right-wing authoritarians driven largely by fear of strangers and those who are different, they have clearly bought into Dr. Huntington's thesis.

Fortunately the majority of the rest of the world does not agree with them. Once our NeoCons and Authoritarians are out of office, that should make finding workable solutions to the problems in Iraq, Iran, and the rest of the Middle East a lot easier.

Note that I said "should", not "will." There is inherent uncertainty in this future set of solutions, and that uncertainty is part of what sets our right-wing Authoritarians and NeoCons off into fear, panic and anger. That's why they must be removed from the decision centers of American foreign policy.

Want specific names? Dick Cheney first, G.W. Bush second, and John Bolton has already been sent packing. The entire Cheney cabal, as described by Larry Wilkinson is part of our American foreign policy problem. It's a shame we can't have a coup, round them all up and throw them into prison. But that's what they'd like to do to us, and it is inherently undemocratic and unAmerican, so we don't do it. But I wonder if Patrick Fitzgerald would be interested in another Special Prosecutor job?

[Ah, fantasies, fantasies. When I was younger, my fantasies were restricted to supermodels and intelligent gorgeous actresses - Helena Bonham Carter? Laura San Giacomo? Why are political fantasies now clouding my horizons? Sensless, sensless.]