Fear, hate and the state of discussion. - Real discrimination

I was listening to NPR driving home last night from Northern California. I know, some of you are shocked that I would listen to National Propaganda Radio, but to be honest, some of the programs (Marketplace for one) are top notch and have no equal on commercial radio. Regardless, I was listening to "Latino USA", when Maria Hinojosa came on with a sort of editorial in which she lambasted folks like Glenn Beck and Shawn Hannity for spreading "hate" and "fear" of Latinos in their disapproval of "undocumented workers".

"Illegal immigrants" she claims she was told by a Jewish human rights activist, was a phrase used by the Nazis to castigate the Jews... the proper term, according to her is "undocumented workers".

Firstly, Ms. Hinojosa needs to get her vocabulary corrected. Few "fear" Latinos, even fewer "hate" them. I'm quite certain that neither Glenn Beck nor Shawn Hannity either fear or hate Latinos, or even "undocumented workers". Their vocal disapproval of the people who attempt to immigrate to this country through dangerous and illegal means is based not on "fear" or "hate", but rather on political, economical and moral grounds.

AIG, the bonuses, the bailout and the hypocrisy.

I know most folks will initially disagree with me, but hear me out.

AIG entered into legally binding contracts with workers who were promised a certain amount of money to stay on while they went through a troubled period. These are called retention bonuses, they're not based on company or even personal performance, rather, only on the fact that said individual remains with the company through the time specified in the contract.

UN Colors!

Desperation... that's all it could be. British media is reporting that a Brit professor, Phillipe Sands, has written a book in which he claims that he saw a 'Downing St. memo' (dramatic music here) wherein President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair considered "flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft planes with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colours" in hopes they'd be shot down and thus precipitate a war with Iraq. Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat acting leader, said last night: "The fact that consideration was apparently given to using American military aircraft in UN colours in the hope of provoking Saddam Hussein is a graphic illustration of the rush to war."

Being somewhat of an aviation buff, I have to question the accuracy of these supposed memos (not to mention the intelligence of said "professor") on the basis of the stupidity of the claim of Bush wanting to paint a U2 in "UN Colors" just to goad the world to attack Iraq. Several things to consider:

1) Though the U-2 has become less useful in this age of satellites and cell phones, to suggest that a US president would sacrifice one (not to mention its pilot) is simply stupid. As of 2005 there were only 29 active Air Force aircraft and 5 two-seaters. The two civilian ER-2's are based at the Dryden Flight Research Center. (See photo.)

2) Any "UN" patrol aircraft over the Iraq no-fly zone carry the markings of the nation from which they come (US or UK). Thus American planes enforcing the no-fly zone had... American markings not some "neutral" UN markings, yet they were still designated UN flights.

3) The U-2 is an American-made plane and there are no U2 aircraft in operation for other nations. Every media outlet and reader of Tom Clancy knows this, no "UN colors" would fool anyone.

2) Iraq was already locking-onto and shooting surface to air missles at UN patrols (US and British aircraft.) Iraq was in constant violation of UN resolutions since the end of the first Gulf War. Far from a "rush to war", Iraq's non-compliance and constant defiance of UN resolutions and international law was renowned. There was no need to create a situation.

4) The U-2's operational flight level is 70k ft. Nothing in the Iraqi arsenal, except for other aircraft, can hit something at this flight level. Note also the claim made by the Guardian paper is that the U2 would have fighter escort... at 70,00 ft no fighter could obtain operational flight level to maintain escort.

5) Finally... what are "UN colors"? Since aircraft flying for the UN still maintain their country of origin's markings as well as a UN monogram on the tail. One wonders then how a U-2 spy plane carring US as well as UN markings spur a war with Iraq any more than the constant attacks already occuring?

It seems desperation is the order of the day for the liberal mindset. It is evident that they cannot make up their minds whether President Bush is a imbecile or a genius and here is yet one more example. Maybe the fictional pres wanted to fly a U-2 with the cute powder blue helmet over iraq with a the French flag (isn't that a blank white one?) on it!?

Walmart - Bad for America?

This article in the Wall Street Journal's opinion pages highlights some problems within the structure of Wal-Mart's corporate society. I've notice other problems relating to Wal-Mart, which I'll highlight here. I'm sure this post will bring some interesting responses.

Unless Wal-Mart reinvents itself, soon, it will go the way of Kmart... and I think this trend has already begun. My observation of Kmart comes at the price of many years of school-yard ridicule for wearing knock-off jeans and nagahide bomber jackets. (I now protest the depletion of the vast herds of naga.)

Kmart always low-balled prices, and in so doing their targeted clientele were the working-poor and low-middle class who needed the bargain. Kmart also followed the tradition that more-is-better in respect to stock on-hand and thus whenever a 'new thing' came out, Kmart carried it. As the years went by, that clientele shifted from generally Caucasians to minorities, locally typified as migrant workers from Central America hired to pick produce in the local fields of Northern California. Their tastes and styles were reflected by the products Kmart carried. Suddenly the clothing shifted to garish plaids (sorry Mr. Neilsen) and strange foods. Eventually, in attempting to provide even lower prices that their new base could afford, they began selling products that were of even lesser quality and eventually the these types of products carried no longer appealed to the original customer base.

Kmart’s aisles became cluttered and disorganized and the whole store, nearly every one you might visit, was trashed. Finally, when trying on a pair of pants I was greeted with a pile of human excrement in the corner of the stall. This could all be of bad hiring practices, poor management or a number of other things (and certainly are); however I believe that they also reflect the mindset of those who, while visiting their local store, left wearing 5 of those plaid shirts, unpaid. It seemed to me that in so shifting their scope, Kmart lost their foundation clients who originally went there for the nagahide and yet were planning to return for the Panasonic TV and in turn was seeking clients who weren't used to American-style markets where changing rooms didn't double for toilets.

Now, I by no way mean to imply that every migrant, every Hispanic, etc has no common sense or anything of the sort. I was and I am friends with many people of minority background who would also find such things disturbing, however, Kmart wasn't targeting people interested in becoming part of our society, but those who visited the US temporarily and had no intentions of staying. Like the folks who rent a cabin for a weekend and leave it trashed, some of these folks seem intent on using the US and leaving the lights on.

Fast forward a few years and where I live now I've got a Wal-Mart about a mile away. When we first moved to this location we were happy at the proximity given Wal-Mart’s selection of products. However, within a year I noticed a similar shift going on at Wal-Mart. The aisles became cluttered, the lines longer, the products on-hand were of terrible quality and the whole experience became such that I simply refused to shop there. The single event that sealed my opinion occurred while waiting in an overly-long line. I was subjected to an overly loud commercial blasting at me from a finger-print smudged LCD screen. The real clincher was... it was in Spanish.

I live in a very ethnically diverse area, and I enjoy the diversity. The local Asian market down the street offers many goods that I would normally not see or try. There is also a very unusual, rancid actually, smell to the market. I understand that it comes from the dried fish aisle, but to one who has never visited such a place, that smell would certainly drive them away. But that said, I expect that smell when I enter this market, it's an Asian market, targeting the local population of Asians for whom dried fish is a normal smell. Thus I don't expect them to have commercials in English advertising their dried fish to me. We also have a large Hispanic population nearby, and there you'd be hard-pressed to find signage, advertisements or products labeled in English. Which is understandable, to some extent? But was does my local Wal-Mart blast a commercial at me in a language other than that I was taught in school?

Now I realize that English-speakers are not the only folks who visit Wal-Mart, and I understand their desire to attract further customers and inform them of other products available, but Wal-Mart needs to be conscious of this decision they're making to appeal to non-English speakers and those who seem intent on not conforming or are simply visitors here and the problems it may lead.

When I saw this commercial, standing line at Wal-Mart, I realized that I wasn't their target client any longer. They did have a commercial in English soon-thereafter, but the whole experience reminded me of Kmart and suddenly the out-of-control appearance of my local Wal-Mart began to make sense. Is it possible that by targeting clients who have little interest in the ongoing success of your store, your community, or your country you're also hurting your own bottom line?

There's much more to this than what I've said here. Questions of targeted advertising, community-matched products and the like all relate to a store's success or failure. Perhaps also I'm shopping in the 'wrong places'. I find myself at Target now much more often than ever at Wal-Mart. There I find I'm surrounded by as diverse a collection of people as at Wal-Mart, but then again, I don't find Target aggressively marketing products in foreign languages on LCD screens... yet.

Nick Berg
Nick Berg, a practicing Jewish, 26 year old civilian contractor from Philedelphia, Penn., was brutally murdered by al-Qaeda this weekend. A video tape of the beheading was made available on an al-Qaeda related website. The video showed Mr. Berg saying his name, his family names and where they lived, then a long statement is read by men in masks carrying various Soviet-style rifles. They said in Arabic that this killing was in response to the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.

Suddenly the masked men let out a scream of 'Allah akbar' and throw Mr. Berg to the ground. Berg's screams mix with those of his captors as one of the men begins to cut through Berg's neck with a large knife. The cut is not easy, the butcher has to saw through, it is unclear how long Berg lived, however, it is clear that his death was painful and grisly. When finally finished, Berg's severed head is held up to the camera.

Considering how many recent captives have been freed, perhaps Berg thought they would let him go. It seems apparent he had no idea that the men holding him were al-Qaeda, or al-Qaeda related. It is thought that one of the men, perhaps the one who actually murdered Berg, is one of al-Qaeda's new top operatives.

Response has been polar... but oddly rageless. One op-ed piece in the Philadelphia Daily is titled "Time To Get The Hell Out", the text of which basically points the finger at President Bush. Even Berg's family seems to blame the US administration... even though their boy willing went to Iraq looking for work. Mr. Berg's reasons for being in Iraq are still unclear. The Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad states they knew he was in Iraq and had suspected that he was engaged in suspicious activity.

Who was Berg working for? What was this young, unemployed, Jewish contractor doing in a war zone in an Arab country?

I wrote this:

So, a talking horse and John Kerry walk into a bar...
the bartender, ignoring the talking horse, looks at Kerry and asks,
"Why the long face?"