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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FaultLine who wrote (13451)	10/22/2003 7:53:00 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793717

Blackfive Blog: I knew a Pakistani years ago who really shook me on these issues. He would have made a great Commander of Auschwitz. And was proud of it. But we want to fire Evangelical Generals. ______________________________________________ Me and My Muslim Friends Neighbors At first, I was so damn angry after the experience you are about to read that I didn't trust myself to write something coherent. Then, I calmed down and figured that it was an anomaly. I wasn't going to write about this experience, but, with the recent comments coming out of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Malaysia, I thought that I might be able to shed some light on what we are up against in the world... One of my friends is a guy I met in grad school a few years ago. He's a lawyer that practices IP law and was pursuing a MS in Computer Science to further his knowledge of programming. He is brilliant. Went to U of Chicago undergrad, then Northwestern University Law. He works for one of the biggest law firms in the world. He is from Pakistan. His name is Masood. A few months ago, Masood invited me to his brother's birthday party. Since I love Middle Eastern food and knew his family pretty well, I went. After the party, we went to a bar on the city's northwest side where a lot of Pakistanis hang out (and, yes, they drank alcohol). We played cards for awhile and then moved back to the bar. The course of our conversation eventually turned from sports and business to politics and religion - and it went badly. Almost immediately, the Israelis were blamed for everything from SARS to the price of bread. Masood's younger brother just came right out with what everyone of them was alluding to...: "The f-cking Jews controll everything." Me: "Come on. Do they control your family's restaurant? Do they control your alderman? Mayor Daley?" Masood's older brother: "They want nothing to do but destroy us. My restaurant does well inspite of their attempts with the Mayor and lobbying the Congress to discriminate against Muslims. You Christians just never see it." Masood, surprising the hell out of me, was nodding his head in agreement: "Just like 9-11." Me: "What?" Masood: "Just like 9-11 where the Mossad flew planes into buildings." WTF?! Me: "You can't really mean that, Masood. Really?" Masood's older brother spoke again, pointing at me: "You are just too stupid to see. Americans are puppets of the Jews." Me, ignoring Masood's idiot brother: "That's really ridiculous. You are telling me that Al Qaeda is controlled by the Mossad?" Masood looked me right in the eye: "No. Al Qaeda didn't bomb the buildings. The Mossad did." I thought, Hey, Asshole, Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the murder of all those innocent people! By then, all thirty patrons of the club were looking at us. And I wasn't getting very warm smiles at this point. I thought about my chances of making it out of there if I really said what I was thinking. I believe Masood knew what I was pondering because he didn't let me think too long: "Maybe you should go, Matt." Me: "Yep. I'll see you." I left without a problem. No one followed me out, and I don't know what they said after I left. I never talked to Masood after that. What I can tell you is that experience scared the hell out of me. How the hell can a guy be so well-educated and smart and successful in America and be so close-minded at the same time? How the hell can we ever convince people like Masood that "the Jews" aren't the problem - that his blindness is the problem? And if we can't convince the likes of him, how can we reach countless millions that don't have Masood's liberal education, facility with English, or access to our mediums? Simple answer: I don't think we can penetrate that kind of cultural and religious brainwashing. Which is why, when I saw this article on the Malaysian Prime Minister's hateful words, I wasn't shocked. Not in the slightest. It really is us against them. Us and the Israelis and a few others against 1.6 billion zealots. Get used to the idea. blackfive.net

To: FaultLine who wrote (13451)	10/22/2003 10:37:48 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793717

California Insider A Weblog by Sacramento Bee Columnist Daniel Weintraub October 22, 2003 The Clarey factor The choice of Patricia Clarey as chief of staff leaves Arnold Schwarzenegger open to two quick criticisms: he is hiring, effectively, an HMO lobbyist as his top aide and also choosing a loyalist to former Gov. Pete Wilson. The lobbyist tag is obvious. Seems like a strange move for a guy who campaigned to sweep the special interests outta town. The Wilson connection is more subtle, in that Schwarzenegger does not want to be known as Pete Wilson's third term, but rather as his own man, running his own show. But Clarey has what Schwarzenegger needs. She knows the Capitol, knows the system, and she is smart, tough and organized. She was the "bad cop" to Bob White's "good cop" when she served as White deputy chief of staff under Wilson. White was schmoozer, the man about town, the governor's alter ego. He stayed above the fray except when his intervention was required, and when it was, he wasn't beyond bringing the hammer down on people. But Clarey was the day-to-day manager, the detail person, the enforcer, the one who was often asked to deliver the bad news. She performed a similar role in the campaign, well enough to impress the new governor with her skills. Clarey is not the kind of person who craves publicity. In fact, she hates talking to the press. So I think she will see her role in this administration, as any good chief of staff would, to see to it that the governor's will is implemented, at least as far as the edges of the vast executive branch. We will know more about how Schwarzenegger's views on state policy will be shaped when we see how he and Clarey fill out the rest of the staff. Insiders, meanwhile, already are wondering who will be paired with Clarey as the good cop in this administration, someone to smooth over the hurt feelings after the chief has had her say? My guess: Schwarzenegger. sacbee.com

To: FaultLine who wrote (13451)	10/23/2003 2:00:22 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793717

I think this is probably funny. Haven't seen it. But the malice comes through. __________________________________________ Letterman mocks Schwarzenegger Associated Press In contrast to the "Tonight" show -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's unofficial late-night venue -- David Letterman is airing material that would make most politicians consider a career change. Over the past week, Letterman's "Meet the Governor" segment has rolled old footage of the incoming California governor grasping a woman's buttocks, smoking marijuana and grinning goofily dressed in an Indian outfit. THERE'S NO POLITICAL motivation; Letterman just wants to be funny, said Rob Burnett, executive producer of Letterman's "Late Show." "For us, it's an easy decision -- what is on the mind of the country and can it be made funny?" he said. "Arnold as governor of California satisfies both objectives. As a bonus, it's pretty easy to make funny." A Schwarzenegger spokesman did not return repeated phone calls for comment. Two of the segments could be seen as embarrassing for Schwarzenegger given allegations, raised late in his campaign for governor, that he had groped women in the past. In one, he is seen conversing with a woman over a table of food. At Schwarzenegger's urging, she seductively licks a carrot stick. The second segment shows Schwarzenegger dancing with women dressed in skimpy costumes; he grips the buttocks of one woman with two hands and grins at the camera. "That's the governor of California, for God's sake," Letterman said after the film stopped rolling on one segment. A brief snippet of Schwarzenegger taking a drag on a marijuana joint after lifting weights appeared to come from the 1977 documentary, "Pumping Iron," which helped launch his Hollywood career. The others came from an extensive film library kept by the comedy show, Burnett said. LETTERMAN VS. LENO Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy to Letterman's rival, Jay Leno, on the "Tonight" show this summer. He appeared again on "Tonight" the night after his election. Leno also introduced Schwarzenegger at his victory celebration on election night. While NBC said it had no problem with Leno's appearance -- he's an entertainer, not a news figure -- some critics have questioned whether a late-night comic runs the risk of alienating his audience by appearing too tight with a candidate. (MSNBC is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC.) Leno hasn't been afraid to crack jokes about Schwarzenegger. According to an analysis by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, Leno made 18 jokes at Schwarzenegger's expense between Aug. 6 and Oct. 6. During the same time period, Letterman made 40 jokes about Schwarzenegger, the Washington-based think tank said. Leno made a total of 69 jokes about Schwarzenegger's political opponents, including Gray Davis, Cruz Bustamante and Arianna Huffington, while Letterman made only three. Leno's show is taped in California, while Letterman is New York-based. "Leno was certainly taking home run shots at the other contenders, but he kept his bat on his shoulder for Arnold," said Matthew Felling, spokesman for the center. "It was the exact opposite on the other side of the country." Burnett said the "Late Show" hasn't heard anything from the Schwarzenegger camp about the "Meet the Governor" segments. The governor-elect has a standing invitation to appear on the "Late Show," although Burnett isn't holding his breath. "It wouldn't be a political commercial," he said. "He'd have to answer some tough questions, real questions from Dave." The "political commercial" reference isn't meant to be a shot at Leno, Burnett said; both shows have political guests who come on with their own agendas. Letterman's Schwarzenegger jokes are not in response to the governor-elect's "Tonight" show connection, he said. Burnett has worked with Letterman for 18 years and said he has "no idea" who his boss votes for or what party he supports. Although the "Late Show" is in repeats this week, there may be more "Meet the Governor" segments in its future. "Like everything else, we'll sense when people get tired of it and we'll stop," he said. "At the moment, nobody seems to be getting tired of it." msnbc.com