I just did a new install
it's nicely in english
the login screen is english

so i went through the things i had done previously to see where it failed
and i think i got my problem sorted (waiting for a reboot)

Knoppix
Control Center
System Administration
Login Manager

when you change the auto-login thingy for a user, it is easy to miss the Lamguage drop down with the blank line

dang time zone won't stay put yet