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

[grduprey at mchsi.com (grduprey@mchsi.com)]

Seems to me old Bill was pretty chummy with them also, just about any of 
them in the past 20 years.

Gene


-------------- Original message from Walt Johnson <walt@waltjohnson.com>: 
-------------- 


> 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 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
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