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

[crgrbrts at verizon.net (Craig Roberts)]

"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