AMF I must agree with your analysis that there are many who are unqualified to pass comment on US ATC procedures, I am not going to rant about my own experience except to say in the main I find the US ATC to a very high standard. However there are times when the sheer volume of traffic necessitates a compromise in this standard. For example the read back of ATC instructions when airborne. I understand that the airtime is busy and it is physically impossible to get in a reply, however this does not make it acceptable. Recently arrived in JFK after 13 hour flight, almost dark, visibility not much better then 4sm. We were given a CRI onto 13L. There are presently no approach lights, centre lights and no edge lights. The F/O was less then 1000 hours and less then 300 on type, English level 3 at the most. Given speed control to CRI of min approach speed then after passing CRI handed over to tower and told to maintain 170kts. The reply was not ‘Roger’ or ‘Wilco’ but simply ‘unable’. The wind at the time was 190/15. Vectors to an ILS 22L would have been my preference, I was working pretty much on my own and had been on duty for almost 15 hours. Once again the situation was not unsafe but was less safe then it could have been. Remember not all crews that fly into the US have the luxury of English as their 1st language, not all crews have the experience level you obviously enjoy, (I get max 2 landings per month) and no we don’t fly there every day, in fact the last time I was in NY was over 6 months ago. Many airlines do not operate bid systems and so the option of not going to the US is a non starter. As the old saying goes ‘why make life difficult when with a little more effort you can make it bloody impossible’