Blue, thanks for the references. Your reply is both thoughtful and informative.
Now wouldn't it be nice if the same could be said for the FAA
I agree the the US and the FAA are often the "culprits" in the efforts to standardize precedures. For many years, I believe our attitude has been, "We're the Big Boys - you wanna play, you play by
our rules!"
Slowly but surely, that attitude is changing for the better. A good example is the FAA's acceptence of ICAO METAR and Airspace Classification procedures. I agree, however, we have a way to go yet.
ATC 24/7