American Culture Shock for Muslims

Arab News recently ran an Op-Ed piece on the effect that American culture has on Muslims living in or visiting America. I was genuinely surprised by the post. The American Culture Shock Works for Sure.

“Would Osama Bin Laden have ended up so anti-American if he had the chance you had to live and study in the US?” the American journalist wondered.

I gave him a long answer (sorry it wasn’t an easy question): “Many Muslims went to America conservative and came back liberal. Others only became conservative, even radicals, after their American experience. A few remained uninfluenced either way.

Said Qutub, the godfather of Islamic radicalism, was a romantic poet before he lived for a short while in Colorado, one of the most beautiful places on earth. Still, he wrote later about his discovery then and there of the Western decadence and how he decided to change course to fight the US influence on the Muslim world. His books persuaded many Muslim generations and led them on the way of confrontation with Western values and with Muslim regimes that do not strictly adhere to the Shariah.

On the other hand, most people I know, young and old, returned from America positively impressed. A prominent anti-US leftist told me after his first visit: I discovered that America is not just pro-Israel Congress and White House. It is also the hospitable, friendly, open and generous people.

During the cross-Atlantic flight from London to New York, my American neighbor told me all about his life and family, showed me their pictures, and discussed everything from the environment to US foreign policies. We agreed and disagreed, but he never showed any anger, arrogance, stubbornness or hostility. Before we parted ways, he gave me his card, invited me home, and ... presented me with a medal of honor he received in the US Army.

The piece goes on to state what a wonderful time the author had while living in Eugene,Oregon, and how some of his best friends were Americans. All this is well and good, but the fact is that many Muslims seriously hate us and our way of life and no Eugene suburb will ever change that.

Open Post thanks to TMH Bacon Bits, Stuck on Stupid, Adam's Blog, Third World Country, Liberal Wrong Wing, Uncooperative Blogger and The Mudville Gazette.

LA Times Sacks Blog

The LA Times recently discontinued a column and Times-affiliated blog authored by Michael Hitzik. Times editors claimed that Hitzik's work was not discontinued because it was inaccurate, "But employing pseudonyms constitutes deception and violates a central tenet of The Times' ethics guidelines: Staff members must not misrepresent themselves and must not conceal their affiliation with The Times." The rest of the story.

Does this mean that all LATimes editorials will now be signed as to not conceal the author's affiliation with the Times?

Open Post thanks to TMH Bacon Bits, Stuck on Stupid, Adam's Blog, Third World Country, Liberal Wrong Wing, Blue Star Chronicles, Conservative Cat, Uncooperative Blogger, Church and State and Cigar Intelligence Agency

Time for Suadis to Capitalize on Their Greatest Resource

Every now and then, I read an article that sends me spinning into what-the-heckville,USA. This instance occured when I read a post from Arab News which stated that educated women, not crude oil or other mineral resources, are the greatest resources in the gulf. Arab News reports:

I have just read an article in The Economist about the changing pattern in parents’ attitudes toward their firstborn. Earlier surveys, especially in the developing world, showed that parents preferred to have a boy instead of a girl. That was a must in agricultural societies where a boy was a strong, extra hand in the field.

However, that belief now is changing — especially in the developing world, including Asia. Girls now are thought of as a better investment. The study found that girls get better grades than boys, graduate quicker and enter the job market faster. They are also excelling in investment and finance which were once exclusively the domain of men.

I have also noticed that the number of women financial analysts on television is increasing and that women are now often found in senior financial positions. After World War II, the number of women in the work force increased. The reason was that many had entered the work force while men were away in the military and when the war was over, they didn’t want to go back home. It wasn’t long before their sisters of working age wanted to work as well.

Today, two-thirds of American women work. Women make up half the US work force, and they are ignoring the gender barriers of the past.

Women are taking more senior-level positions and becoming more involved in the decision-making processes of both business and industry. This also gives them a stronger social and political voice which should contribute significantly to both stability and security in society.

In the Gulf states, there has been fair progress in women’s development; however, more needs to be done. Any society that neglects half its population assures its position as an also-ran among the nations of the world.

In Saudi Arabia, the number of female graduates is high, and women are taking on tasks that a few years ago might have seemed unimaginable. They are taking positions of responsibility, and they are succeeding because Saudi women are intelligent and eager to forge ahead and accept challenges. We should be helping them to succeed rather than debating whether they should try. Educating women is a very important piece of the economic puzzle and, once it is done, it is a piece we cannot afford to ignore or fail to use. This is a truth not lost on India or the Far East — places where national economies are racing forward and national dialogues focus on the next economic or financial sector with no attention paid to who should be allowed to play the game. Many of these nations are resource-poor except for their human populations. Imagine what a nation blessed by an abundance of natural resources would be able to do if it made its human resources the most important of all.

The problem we have in Saudi Arabia is twofold. The most pressing of which is how we can position ourselves in the super-competitive global economy and come out winners. As important for us is the internal challenge of how we can enable all the members of our work force — both men and women — to progress while keeping the fabric of our society intact.

It’s a difficult challenge, but it is a challenge upon which the future success or failure of our nation will depend. Ours is a faith-based country and that makes it an obligation, both to our children and our faith, to find a way forward or find ourselves in a situation in which both will suffer.

Part of that challenge is finding the way to make full use of our female talent. Our society must readjust its views and remove obstacles that make it harder for women to work and, at the same time, provide them with the flexibility to combine work with family life. We have to remember that well-educated Saudi women will not only be more productive, they will also raise healthier, better educated children.

If we had the luxury of time, it would be easy to say: Let those better-educated children figure out what to do. The fact is, however, that we do not have that luxury. It is incumbent upon us to find the way forward — and to do so as soon as possible. The good news is that we have an incredible, largely untapped resource, greater than our blessings of oil, natural gas and minerals. She wears an abaya and her time has come.

Incredible. What's next, letting women vote, show their faces or look at a cartoon? Ghastly.

Open Post Thanks to Third World County, Wizbang, THM's Bacon Bits, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Time for Suadis to Capitalize on Their Greatest Resource

Every now and then, I read an article that sends me spinning into what-the-heckville,USA. This instance occured when I read a post from Arab News which stated that educated women, not crude oil or other mineral resources, are the greatest resources in the gulf. Arab News reports:

I have just read an article in The Economist about the changing pattern in parents’ attitudes toward their firstborn. Earlier surveys, especially in the developing world, showed that parents preferred to have a boy instead of a girl. That was a must in agricultural societies where a boy was a strong, extra hand in the field.

However, that belief now is changing — especially in the developing world, including Asia. Girls now are thought of as a better investment. The study found that girls get better grades than boys, graduate quicker and enter the job market faster. They are also excelling in investment and finance which were once exclusively the domain of men.

I have also noticed that the number of women financial analysts on television is increasing and that women are now often found in senior financial positions. After World War II, the number of women in the work force increased. The reason was that many had entered the work force while men were away in the military and when the war was over, they didn’t want to go back home. It wasn’t long before their sisters of working age wanted to work as well.

Today, two-thirds of American women work. Women make up half the US work force, and they are ignoring the gender barriers of the past.

Women are taking more senior-level positions and becoming more involved in the decision-making processes of both business and industry. This also gives them a stronger social and political voice which should contribute significantly to both stability and security in society.

In the Gulf states, there has been fair progress in women’s development; however, more needs to be done. Any society that neglects half its population assures its position as an also-ran among the nations of the world.

In Saudi Arabia, the number of female graduates is high, and women are taking on tasks that a few years ago might have seemed unimaginable. They are taking positions of responsibility, and they are succeeding because Saudi women are intelligent and eager to forge ahead and accept challenges. We should be helping them to succeed rather than debating whether they should try. Educating women is a very important piece of the economic puzzle and, once it is done, it is a piece we cannot afford to ignore or fail to use. This is a truth not lost on India or the Far East — places where national economies are racing forward and national dialogues focus on the next economic or financial sector with no attention paid to who should be allowed to play the game. Many of these nations are resource-poor except for their human populations. Imagine what a nation blessed by an abundance of natural resources would be able to do if it made its human resources the most important of all.

The problem we have in Saudi Arabia is twofold. The most pressing of which is how we can position ourselves in the super-competitive global economy and come out winners. As important for us is the internal challenge of how we can enable all the members of our work force — both men and women — to progress while keeping the fabric of our society intact.

It’s a difficult challenge, but it is a challenge upon which the future success or failure of our nation will depend. Ours is a faith-based country and that makes it an obligation, both to our children and our faith, to find a way forward or find ourselves in a situation in which both will suffer.

Part of that challenge is finding the way to make full use of our female talent. Our society must readjust its views and remove obstacles that make it harder for women to work and, at the same time, provide them with the flexibility to combine work with family life. We have to remember that well-educated Saudi women will not only be more productive, they will also raise healthier, better educated children.

If we had the luxury of time, it would be easy to say: Let those better-educated children figure out what to do. The fact is, however, that we do not have that luxury. It is incumbent upon us to find the way forward — and to do so as soon as possible. The good news is that we have an incredible, largely untapped resource, greater than our blessings of oil, natural gas and minerals. She wears an abaya and her time has come.

Incredible. What's next, letting women vote, show their faces or look at a cartoon? Ghastly.

Open Post Thanks to Third World County, Wizbang, THM's Bacon Bits, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Time for Suadis to Capitalize on Their Greatest Resource

Every now and then, I read an article that sends me spinning into what-the-heckville,USA. This instance occured when I read a post from Arab News which stated that educated women, not crude oil or other mineral resources, are the greatest resources in the gulf. Arab News reports:

I have just read an article in The Economist about the changing pattern in parents’ attitudes toward their firstborn. Earlier surveys, especially in the developing world, showed that parents preferred to have a boy instead of a girl. That was a must in agricultural societies where a boy was a strong, extra hand in the field.

However, that belief now is changing — especially in the developing world, including Asia. Girls now are thought of as a better investment. The study found that girls get better grades than boys, graduate quicker and enter the job market faster. They are also excelling in investment and finance which were once exclusively the domain of men.

I have also noticed that the number of women financial analysts on television is increasing and that women are now often found in senior financial positions. After World War II, the number of women in the work force increased. The reason was that many had entered the work force while men were away in the military and when the war was over, they didn’t want to go back home. It wasn’t long before their sisters of working age wanted to work as well.

Today, two-thirds of American women work. Women make up half the US work force, and they are ignoring the gender barriers of the past.

Women are taking more senior-level positions and becoming more involved in the decision-making processes of both business and industry. This also gives them a stronger social and political voice which should contribute significantly to both stability and security in society.

In the Gulf states, there has been fair progress in women’s development; however, more needs to be done. Any society that neglects half its population assures its position as an also-ran among the nations of the world.

In Saudi Arabia, the number of female graduates is high, and women are taking on tasks that a few years ago might have seemed unimaginable. They are taking positions of responsibility, and they are succeeding because Saudi women are intelligent and eager to forge ahead and accept challenges. We should be helping them to succeed rather than debating whether they should try. Educating women is a very important piece of the economic puzzle and, once it is done, it is a piece we cannot afford to ignore or fail to use. This is a truth not lost on India or the Far East — places where national economies are racing forward and national dialogues focus on the next economic or financial sector with no attention paid to who should be allowed to play the game. Many of these nations are resource-poor except for their human populations. Imagine what a nation blessed by an abundance of natural resources would be able to do if it made its human resources the most important of all.

The problem we have in Saudi Arabia is twofold. The most pressing of which is how we can position ourselves in the super-competitive global economy and come out winners. As important for us is the internal challenge of how we can enable all the members of our work force — both men and women — to progress while keeping the fabric of our society intact.

It’s a difficult challenge, but it is a challenge upon which the future success or failure of our nation will depend. Ours is a faith-based country and that makes it an obligation, both to our children and our faith, to find a way forward or find ourselves in a situation in which both will suffer.

Part of that challenge is finding the way to make full use of our female talent. Our society must readjust its views and remove obstacles that make it harder for women to work and, at the same time, provide them with the flexibility to combine work with family life. We have to remember that well-educated Saudi women will not only be more productive, they will also raise healthier, better educated children.

If we had the luxury of time, it would be easy to say: Let those better-educated children figure out what to do. The fact is, however, that we do not have that luxury. It is incumbent upon us to find the way forward — and to do so as soon as possible. The good news is that we have an incredible, largely untapped resource, greater than our blessings of oil, natural gas and minerals. She wears an abaya and her time has come.

Incredible. What's next, letting women vote, show their faces or look at a cartoon? Ghastly.

Open Post Thanks to Third World County, Wizbang, THM's Bacon Bits, The Mudville Gazette and Stuck on Stupid.

Forrestal Remembered by National Geographic

I recall (seriously) being in basic training and watching the horrific video footage of the Forrestal tragedy. I never knew until many years later that John McCain (???-AZ) had a starring role in the production. Militatry.com reports:

Norfolk, VA. - The Naval Safety Center and other Navy commands are helping National Geographic with a series called “Seconds from Disaster,” which shares major historical events that had tragic results.

The current Navy story deals with the 1967 fire aboard USS Forrestal (CVA 59). The special will show what happened, how Sailors valiantly fought to save the ship, and what lessons were learned that led to modern safety features.

“This is a chance to show the good that came from a tragic event,” said Cmdr. Bob Standley, head mishap investigator at the Naval Safety Center and a key player in the National Geographic special. “My role was to walk the viewer through the mishap, through the eyes of a modern-day mishap investigator. It was interesting to review an old mishap and to share what the Navy learned from that experience.”

The show will include recreations of various events from that day. Rather than use local actors, Sailors from USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and the Farrier Firefighting School will appear in the show.

Capt. (sel.) Dave Lepard, an ordnance expert at NOSSA Indian Head, Md., also helped with the production. “As an ordnanceman, I’m very aware of the USS Forrestal fire,” he said. “It was a watershed event. I read about the incident, researched it, and learned about the mishap that changed the way we do business at sea. I wanted to make sure we did a job that was right for the Navy and for those who lost their lives that fateful day in July.”

“My biggest thanks for all the hard work you all did getting us in to all the places and to meet all the people we needed to see,” said Margaret Beckett, the show’s producer. “Everyone, but everyone we encountered in the U.S. Navy was enthusiastic, helpful and I think many went out of their way to help us. I hope you will enjoy the end product!”

The show is tentatively titled “USS Forrestal Fire - July 29, 1967.” Current plans are for the show to air during the late summer.

The thought of these images still haunt me to this day.

Open Post Thanks toThird World Country, The Mudville Gazette, Freedom Watch, Conservative Cat and Outside the Beltway.

Jordan Accuses Hamassholes of Smuggling Weapons

According to an AP report posted today, Amman has accused the Hamassholes of smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom. The irritating part is that the AP reporter used the term "activist" to describe the abject pieces of human debris that are the Hamassholes. Regardless, AP reports:

Jordan accused Hamas activists of smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom and said Tuesday it was canceling a planned visit of the Palestinian foreign minister — the second diplomatic snub for the Hamas-led government in a week.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar's visit to Jordan, which was planned for Wednesday, had been "put off until further notice," a Jordanian government spokesman said.

On Friday, Zahar went to Cairo, but Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said he was too busy for a meeting.

The Jordanian spokesman, Nasser Judeh, told The Associated Press that "missiles, explosives and automatic weapons were seized in the last couple of days." Hamas activists had managed to smuggle "such dangerous weapons into the country" and store them, he said.

He would not say whether the activists had been arrested.

Osama Hamadan, a spokesman for Hamas, declined to comment on Judeh's remarks, saying late Tuesday he had not seen the Jordanian statement.

In a separate statement to the official Petra news agency, Judeh said Jordanian security services had observed Hamas activists "exploring several vital (potential) targets" in the capital, Amman, and other cities. He did not elaborate.

State television quoted Judeh as saying the discovery of the arms cache proved that "Hamas is using two languages in dealing with Jordan."

Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, maintains a tough line on militants and once expelled the current leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, for his activities.

Jordan and Egypt have called on Hamas to accept the Arab peace plan, which entails full recognition of Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars.

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel.

Hamas officials have been flying around the Middle East to ask for aid, although it was not immediately clear whether that was the purpose of Wednesday's trip. Hamas is hoping for help to compensate for the U.S. and European Union's decisions to cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority because of the militant group's refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel.

Open Post Thanks toThird World Country, The Median Sib, Freedom Watch, Conservative Cat and Outside the Beltway.

41 Taliban Get Their 72 Virgins

Courtesy of Afghan Security Forces and a few coalition helicopters, 41 Taliban terrorists are closer to the 72 virgins they have been promised all their lives. On behalf of freedom-loving individuals everywhere, I wish I could've hooked you up years ago. Afghans Attack Suspected Taliban; 41 Die

Afghan security forces backed by coalition helicopters attacked a suspected Taliban hideout in southern Afghanistan, setting off an intense gunbattle that killed 41 rebels, a provincial governor said Saturday.

Six Afghan police officers also died in Friday's fighting in Sangisar, a town 25 miles southwest of Kandahar, said Asadullah Khalid, the provincial governor. Nine police and several militants were wounded.

"Acting on intelligence reports that Taliban have gathered in Sangisar to plan an attack in Kandahar, we launched this operation Friday and the fighting continued from morning to evening," he said.

Khalid said security forces were pursuing Taliban fighters who fled to a nearby village. He said security forces had seen the bodies of 41 rebels but had only retrieved 11.

AH-64 Apache helicopters provided by coalition forces fired rockets to support Afghan forces on the ground, said U.S. military spokesman Lt. Mike Cody. He declined to comment on casualty figures.

Open Post Thanks to Blue Star Chronicles, Third World County, Pirate's Cove, Rhymes with Right, and The Uncooperative Blogger.

The Post Comes Out of the Ether

Today's lead editorial in the Washington Post gives me a slight bit of reassurance that old and venerable members of the print press still have a breath of life in them. The editorial, A Good Leak, lays out why the current scandal is not and hopefully puts to rest this Joe Wilson -- Valerie Plame fiasco. The Washington Post opines:

President Bush was right to approve the declassification of parts of a National Intelligence Estimate about Iraq three years ago in order to make clear why he had believed that Saddam Hussein was seeking nuclear weapons. Presidents are authorized to declassify sensitive material, and the public benefits when they do.

Not only did the Post get that correct, their successful at-bat continued...

The affair concerns, once again, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV and his absurdly over-examined visit to the African country of Niger in 2002. Each time the case surfaces, opponents of the war in Iraq use it to raise a different set of charges, so it's worth recalling the previous iterations. Mr. Wilson originally claimed in a 2003 New York Times op-ed and in conversations with numerous reporters that he had debunked a report that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium from Niger and that Mr. Bush's subsequent inclusion of that allegation in his State of the Union address showed that he had deliberately "twisted" intelligence "to exaggerate the Iraq threat." The material that Mr. Bush ordered declassified established, as have several subsequent investigations, that Mr. Wilson was the one guilty of twisting the truth. In fact, his report supported the conclusion that Iraq had sought uranium.

Mr. Wilson subsequently claimed that the White House set out to punish him for his supposed whistle-blowing by deliberately blowing the cover of his wife, Valerie Plame, who he said was an undercover CIA operative. This prompted the investigation by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald. After more than 2 1/2 years of investigation, Mr. Fitzgerald has reported no evidence to support Mr. Wilson's charge. In last week's court filings, he stated that Mr. Bush did not authorize the leak of Ms. Plame's identity. Mr. Libby's motive in allegedly disclosing her name to reporters, Mr. Fitzgerald said, was to disprove yet another false assertion, that Mr. Wilson had been dispatched to Niger by Mr. Cheney. In fact Mr. Wilson was recommended for the trip by his wife. Mr. Libby is charged with perjury, for having lied about his discussions with two reporters. Yet neither the columnist who published Ms. Plame's name, Robert D. Novak, nor Mr. Novak's two sources have been charged with any wrongdoing.

In their final at-bat, the Post clears the fences.

As Mr. Fitzgerald pointed out at the time of Mr. Libby's indictment last fall, none of this is particularly relevant to the question of whether the grounds for war in Iraq were sound or bogus. It's unfortunate that those who seek to prove the latter would now claim that Mr. Bush did something wrong by releasing for public review some of the intelligence he used in making his most momentous decision.

This is one of the times I wished the editorial was signed -- not for the reasons I normally wish they were.

Others blogging this topic: Right Wing Nut House, Kerfuffles and Blue Crab Boulevard.

Open Post Thanks to Point Five, Right Wing Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Uncooperative Blogger, Jo's Cafe and The Mudville Gazette.

Journalist Jailed for On-line Remarks

No, he is not a cartoonist. A Suadi journalist has been jailed since Monday for comments posted in on-line forums four years ago. Apparently, authorities claim his faith is in doubt. Arab News reports: Journalist Detained for Internet Remarks

JEDDAH, 9 April 2006 — Saudi journalist Rabah Al-Quwayi, 24, has been detained by Hail authorities in connection with his writings posted on Internet forums, which they allege place his Islamic faith in doubt.

Al-Quwayi, a reporter for the Riyadh-based daily Shams, has been in Hail police custody since Monday.

“They asked me about topics I wrote on the Internet four years ago,” Al-Quwayi told Arab News from his detention center.

Hail police chief Gen. Nasser Al-Nowaisser said Al-Quwayi is detained under a warrant requested by the Commission for Prosecution and Investigation.

“Our job was to execute the warrant. As his case is not a public offense, we have nothing to do with the course of the investigation,” said Al-Nowaisser.

When Arab News contacted Ahmad Al-Mashhour from the Hail office of the commission, he refused to comment on the case.

Lawyer Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem announced yesterday that he would be representing Al-Quwayi. The lawyer said he is still unclear who the plaintiffs in the case are; nobody has come forward as the accusers. The commission has the legal right to detain any suspect for up to six months, said Al-Lahem, but the reasons have to be clear.

“The crime must be a serious one, like drug-trafficking, theft, or when there is a likelihood of the suspect fleeing the country,” said the lawyer.

The story of Al-Quwayi’s detention goes back to November when he was based in Hail as a part-time reporter for the Okaz newspaper. He said that unidentified people had been tracking his postings on Internet forums regarding religious extremism. His car was subsequently vandalized and a note was left on the dashboard that said: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful: This time it is your car but next time it is you. Return to your religion and forsake heresy. This is the last warning.”

Al-Quwayi says that he believes the harassment is based on his Internet writing and not anything he’s published in the two newspapers he has worked for.

In a telephone interview with Arab News on Tuesday night, Al-Quwayi said that authorities in Hail contacted him asking him to come in and fill out some paperwork related to his complaints of harassment that stem from the incidents last November. He responded that he had obligations at his job and couldn’t come in. The police sent an explanation letter to the editor in chief of the paper, and Al-Quwayi was given permission to go to the police station. He was immediately arrested upon arrival. Police told him they had discarded his complaints of harassment and opened a new investigation into his Islamic faith.

“They told me that if I didn’t complain to the police in the first place they wouldn’t have suspected my beliefs,” said Al-Quwayi.

Al-Quwayi said the commission investigators were peppering him with questions that were meant to determine his religious knowledge. He added that commission investigators argued with him on topics he posted on the Internet four years ago.

Lawyer Al-Lahem said that now that he’s taken on the case, his first steps would be to review the warrant to make sure it has been done according to proper procedure, and to request the case be moved to Riyadh where he and his client live.

Open Post Thanks to Point Five, Right Wing Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Uncooperative Blogger, Jo's Cafe and The Mudville Gazette.

Hamas Still Doesn't Get It

Hamas has constantly reminded the world that they do not recognize Israel. Well, it appears that they are getting pretty good at recognizing Israeli missiles and bullets. Israeli air missiles whacked a car of terrorists that dispatched rockets towards Israel. Today (well, Sunday in Israel), Israeli artillery killed a Palestinian police officer and wounded 16 in response to militant rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas has refused to condemn the attacks on Israel and Acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the military has been given a free hand to act against militants. Not a good combination. AP reports:

Deployed Servicemembers Achieve U.S. Citizenship

Amid all the chaos regarding immigrants (both legal and illegal) in the U.S. , there heve been many voices that are missing. These are the voices of non-U.S. citizens fighting -- and falling -- for the U.S. There are a few out there that say that many of the newly sworn joined the service to become a U.S. citizen. Well, if that is the case, and people are willing to join an armed service and fight (and possibly die) on foreign soil, then this must be one hell of a country. DOD reports:

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, April 7, 2006 – Servicemembers deployed to Kuwait became U.S. citizens yesterday during a naturalization ceremony at chapel here.

"It is a great day to be an American," said Whitcomb. "I am not only happy and proud to be here as a soldier, but as an American as well."

"As new citizens to the United States, I salute you," Tueller said. "From today on, you have the opportunity to pursue the American Dream."

Special guests from the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, Rome office, participated in the ceremony. Lori Pietropaoli, officer in charge, administered the oath of allegiance and presented the certificates. Joseph Hackbarth, immigration officer, presented the candidates.

To become eligible for U.S. citizenship, a person must demonstrate good moral character, an understanding of U.S. history and government, and comprehension of the English language.

The ceremony was the first one conducted since mid-December as servicemembers from all over Kuwait, Iraq and Qatar took the oath to become U.S. citizens.

Congratulations one and all. I am proud to call you all "fellow Americans."

Open Post Thanks to Point Five, Right Wing Nation, Blue Star Chronicles, The Uncooperative Blogger, THM's Bacon Bits and The Mudville Gazette.

Buy American Act?

After what seems like a lifetime after I left active duty in the Coast Guard, I earned my degree in Environmental Biology and Management from U.C. Davis and worked as a project manager for several environmental firms. The worst project I ever had was a lead paint removal project from the roof of a Federal Building in California. Everything about this project was bad, the project bid, the plans, the specs and most importantly, my project management. All this aside, I recall an item in the contract that threw me for a loop. This was the "Buy American Act" clause. In order to be in compliance with our contract, we could not purchase foreign steel or foreign magic lead paint remover stuff (we could use all the foreign labor we wanted -- funny that). However, my beloved Coast Guard has no trouble contracting with EADS, a French-owned firm, for the design and production of the HC-235A, a medium-range, surveillance, maritime patrol aircraft. I posted about EADS way back in June 2005 and I am still shocked. Aren't the French the people that wouldn't stand by us in Iraq? Aren't the French that stood beside Russia and propped up the Iraqi economy for years? Suppose the Frech get pissed at us again for turning the croissant into the croisandwich? Would they stop production of important spare parts in the time of urgent need.

I can hear it now, "Hurry, we need more infrared HUDs for the HC-235A!"
"But I am le tired."
"I shall smoke and have le nap."

Unbelievable.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid and Third World County.

Is Palestine the new Nicaragua?

According to Aljazeera, Palestine is rapidly becoming the new Nicaragua. While some of the parallels are at the most interesting, the one startling comment is that Hamas is doing this to themselves. I clearly recall many kids in high school that dressed in all black, wore gothic make up and did everything in their power to let the rest of the student body know that they did not want to be part of the crowd. Guess what? We gave them what they wanted. Eventually, there was in-fighting between the goths and many added color to their wardrobe and washed their faces. This seems to be precisely what is occuring in Palestine. Arab News reports:

What is unfolding in the occupied territories is a worst-case scenario, ironically one made possible with the direct help of many Palestinians themselves.

The democratically elected Palestinian government is now officially isolated, as many Palestinians cannot see beyond their own narrow ideological differences and factions. Others cannot resist their total reliance on foreign, mostly European funds to run their NGOs, whose contribution to Palestinian life is still disputed.

It looks as though Palestine is being turned into another Nicaragua. That was the intent from the moment Hamas was declared victorious in the Parliamentary elections last January. US mainstream media conveyed the feeling that an utter miscalculation in US foreign policy took place. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice charged back, leading a campaign of defamation and coercion aimed at isolating the democratically elected Palestinian legislators, further solidifying with the former corrupt political elite.

The isolation was not caused by the U.S. media, nor the Secretary of State; but, by false promises, poor fiscal management and the dreaded "Oh crap we won, now what do we do?"

Nicaragua of the 1960s and 1970s seemed of little concern as long as our formidable man, Somoza, ruled with an iron fist. His people robbed the country senseless until the Sandinistas emerged on the scene, toppling him and eventually his US-armed National Guard. Predictably, the US took on the new Sandinista government, which was described then by the international development organization Oxfam as “exceptional..(in its) commitment to improve the conditions of the people and encourage their active participation in the development process.” On the other hand, it was obvious that Somoza had fled with his country’s entire movable assets.

For reasons that have more to do with US strategic interests than the welfare of the people of Nicaragua, the Sandinistas were labeled a “cancer” that had to be extracted. To do so, Nicaragua was completely cut off, denied any form of aid and was forced to squander its resources to fight off Somoza’s former National Guard, renamed the Contras. The rest, of course, is history. Bullied, isolated and terrified, the people of Nicaragua couldn’t withstand the US-led pressures, and were forced into submission, ditching the Sandinista government in a rare democratic election, orchestrated by the Sandinistas themselves. The human cost for such American adventurism was of course unbearable to ordinary Nicaraguans, though it constituted a mere continuation of US foreign policy in Central America and all over the world.

The Palestinian case is, more or less, being handled the same way: The internal and external pressures, the unreasonable demands, the boycott and the collective punishment. All elements are indeed falling into place to remanufacture that same nightmarish scenario which, it is hoped, would lead to diplomatic deadlock, regional and international isolation and further deterioration in the already unstable (read non-existing) Palestinian economy.

Palestine has every opportunity in the world; work to achieve peace with your neighbor (and largest employer of your people) or wither on the vine.

Open Post Thanks to The Mudville Gazette, Right Wing Nation, Stuck on Stupid and Third World County.