Yes, John, that wall has been a total success just as the invasion of Iraq has (yes, it does suck for Saddam Hussein). 

So... happy war!

According to Joe Biden, it was a success. He called it the "greatest foreign policy success of the Obama administration". 

Hi John,

This is a fascinating thread. Being a Scot, I would prefer that Hadrian's Wall was rebuilt/renovated in order to preserve Scottish independence

As for the Great Wall(s) of China, I would also be happy for them to be rebuilt/renovated since it is a childhood dream of mine to walk along the whole length of this amazing series of manmade barriers.

Meanwhile, back to translation...

All the best,

Ian

Published a year ago, the controversial book "Deutschland schafft sich ab" (Germany does away with itself) by banker and Berlin Senator of Finance Thilo Sarrazin sparked intense discussion. Hamed Abdel-Samad asks: What has the Sarrazin debate achieved beyond polarization and insult? And how can Germany avoid cultivating its own classes of "future foreigners"?

http://www.signandsight.com/features/2159.html

... maybe because I am in Munich, but I don't view the Germans as building walls to seal off foreigners. Germany, like the U.S.A, is one of the main destinations in the world for immigrants. I don't have to walk far to encounter Italians, Turks, Russians, Americans, Brits, and many other nationalities. It is very anecdotal, but I don't see this country as being against foreigners. And definitely not against us Americans. 

I tend to see the world in universal human terms, so when I read in Nowhere to Go, Patients Linger in Hospitals, at a High Cost that "Hundreds of patients, including illegal immigrants, who are well enough to be discharged have languished in city hospitals for months or years because there is nowhere to send them," I see this as parallel to the phenomenon Polish hospitals complained about before Christmas, of Polish families dumping their elederly relatives in hospitals for the period of the vacation they wanted to take. Also here, patients laguish because there is nowhere to send them as the families have made sure not to leave any house keys behind.