[Fwd: Re: [Leica] Will is win big?]

[walt at waltjohnson.com (Walt Johnson)]

I thought the Saudis were good guys? Haven't both Bush admins been very 
close to our Saudi friends?

Craig Roberts wrote:

> "I refuse to accept the idea that they cannot be negotiated with until 
> we exhaust all possibilities in that arena.  And, then, I would be  
> ready to look for more options...."
>
>
> Reverend, that is a heartfelt, sensitive and truly Christian -- in its 
> very best sense -- sentiment worthy of a sincere, peace loving man of 
> the cloth.  Unfortunately...
>
> Some years ago I worked for a Saudi publishing house in Houston, 
> editing copy, writing articles and taking pictures for an  English 
> language business magazine which was sponsored by the Saudi royal 
> family, i.e., the Saudi government.  The magazine's stated editorial 
> mission was to promote Saudi Arabian business interests while 
> fostering cultural understanding and cooperation.  The pay was 
> generous and the promised benefits equally attractive.  The working 
> conditions were the absolute best I've experienced, before or since.
>
> After I'd been there a couple of weeks I needed to consult a wall map 
> hung in our office to locate a small town in The Kingdom.  While 
> perusing the Middle East as depicted on the map I noted that one small 
> area bordered by Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and the sea was uncharted -- 
> no geographical features, no place names; a complete blank.   When I 
> asked my managing director about the odd omission, he replied "that 
> place does not exist."
>
> The magazine was published bi-weekly. Each lavishly produced issue 
> featured a beautiful work of Arab calligraphy on the inside front 
> cover.  The specially commissioned artwork was printed in five colors 
> and, thus, was somewhat complex to assemble by the printer.
> Well, in one instance the printer apparently mistook some color 
> callouts on the layout of the inside front cover and misprinted the 
> calligraphic image.  We staff members were alerted to this mistake by 
> the literal screams of horror and terror by our managing director 
> shorty after the arrival of our "comp" copies for that issue.  We 
> rushed to his office to find this ordinarily calm and dignified man 
> collapsed on the floor, rocking and moaning piteously.  The open 
> magazine nearby revealed the reason for his distress.  Through a 
> duplication or mis-registration of color separations, a reddish Star 
> of David -- with the faint, subtlety of a figure in a color blindness 
> test page,  found itself embedded in the graphic.  Our boss was 
> inconsolable for several days and talked of the incident for the 
> remainder of my tenure.
>
> To be fair, however, my tenure was relatively brief.  After a few 
> months it was decided that the publication's production would be more 
> efficiently completed if we were relocated from Texas to Washington, 
> DC.  All of us would, we were assured, be retained and given pay 
> raises to compensate for the increased cost of living in the Nation's 
> Capitol.  Brochures were handed out to each of us advertising luxury 
> apartments in Washington, including the Watergate.  We were instructed 
> to choose from among these accommodations, which would serve as our 
> individual temporary quarters, free of charge, until we could find 
> suitable permanent housing in our new home.  Moving expenses and 
> arrangements, of course, were to be made by the company and we were 
> instructed to be ready to go on a particular Saturday morning when a 
> Mayflower moving van and a taxi cab would arrive at our homes. As 
> muscular men packed and transported our goods, we were advised, we 
> would journey by chartered jet to Washington.
>
> It sounds fantastic, doesn't it?  Well, it was.  In fact, only two out 
> of the thirty or so employees were actually relocated.  The rest of us 
> were stranded, unemployed and -- some -- homeless, back in Texas.
>
> This is a true story.  Every word.  In "negotiating", we Westerners 
> are dealing with a cultural mindset that is, to us, incomprehensible.  
> They, in turn, find it impossible to understand us.  Yes, I believe in 
> the sanctity of human life. Yes, I yearn for peace.  I flew combat 
> missions in a war and know, first hand, of its horrors.  However, I 
> think it is naive for us to believe that we can reach a true and 
> honest  understanding over a conference table.  Impossible?  Only God, 
> or Allah, knows, but I fear for us all  if we continue to turn the 
> other cheek.  The Israelis, Middle Easterners themselves, understand 
> this far better than we do.
>
> Craig Roberts
> Washington, DC
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>