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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Keith Feral who wrote (147704)	10/13/2004 7:54:51 AM
From: jttmab	Respond to of 281500

And I had thought we were discussing the impact of rising oil prices and how it benefits US manufacturing! There is a serious lack of supply for manufacturing. There's a shortage of plastics? I can eat a steak at a restaraunt and buy a bottle of wine for about the same price I would pay at the store - minus the tip. Our experiences are different. I can prepare the comparable meal at home substantially cheaper than I can buy it at a restaurant. And it would be of higher quality. Spent $5 a head for the 4 of us. Would have been more expensive to go to kroger and buy all the meat, vegetables, milk and bottled water. An apples to oranges comparison. What would it cost you to make a pizza with the same ingredients? Why not eat Chinese food for $6 at lunch full of tofu and vegetables vs. $5 value meals from BK or Mickey D's full of grease and carbs. Well, yeah. I don't think that anyone would argue that Americans, overall, have a preference for healthy foods. Some time ago, I was standing in Prague in earshot of some other Americans. A man turns into his wife and says ~ "We travel 5,000 miles and what the hell do the kids do? They eat in McDonalds...this is the third time today they've been in fricking McDonalds." Russia has their own war against Chechnyan Muslims about ready to rage. Russia has been waging a war against their own people since the early 1990s. As Russia is our good partner in the war on terrorism, we call it a "domestic problem". In my mind a "domestic problem" is when you and your wife argue over what chores you haven't done. How many different nations have been insulted by Islamic beheadings and kidnappings? I can't answer that. But I do know that no one in this Administration has objected to beheadings by the Saudis under Islamic law. How many beheadings has there been in Iraq so far this year? In Saudi Arabia [our good friend in the fight against terrorism.]...somewhat dated [1999] In recent years, however, the number of public executions carried out under the auspices of Sharia (Koranic) law has escalated so sharply that beheadings are no longer limited to Fridays. The atmosphere during the killings in the 'Chop Squares' is one of spectacle. Women are not exempt from execution. Nor is youth any guarantee of immunity. With the onset of puberty, convicted youngsters are considered adult enough to die. Most of the prisoners beheaded in Saudi Arabia are foreign nationals. In 1998, 29 people were executed. So far this year, 95 people have been judicially killed, 49 being foreigners, including 12 Pakistanis, 10 Nigerians (three were women), nine Afghans, six Indians, as well as citizens from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Syria, Jordan, Ethiopia, Chad and Yemen. guardian.co.uk Wasn't that a behavior the US cited as an abomination in Afghanistan? jttmab

To: Keith Feral who wrote (147704)	10/13/2004 8:08:20 AM
From: jttmab	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Something current on Saudi beheadings.... CNN's Wolf Blitzer: Does Saudi Arabia Have a Double Standard on Beheadings hursday, 24 June 2004 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Should people be surprised when an ally of the United States is accused of carrying out beheadings as a matter of legal punishment? "The terrorists ... are just carrying out the tradition that the Saudi state has established for 70 years," says Ali al-Ahmed of the Saudi Institute, a Saudi opposition group in Washington. "Every weekend. It happens every weekend." American hostage Paul Johnson Jr. was beheaded by his captors in Saudi Arabia, June 18. In its 2004 annual report, Amnesty International says that last year there were at least 50 public executions in Saudi Arabia carried out on the orders of the Saudi government. Amnesty International says the vast majority were beheadings, a contention supported by the Saudi Institute. Of the executions the human rights group knows about, 26 were for drug-related convictions, 24 were for murder. "This is a way of punishment. So people grow up with this notion that this is how you punish people," says CNN's senior editor for Arab Affairs, Octavia Nasr. CNN tried repeatedly to get the Saudi government to respond to the allegations. CNN also tried to get the government to acknowledge the practice of public execution, under Islamic law. The Saudi government's representatives in Washington would not comment. CNN intelligence analyst Ken Robinson makes the point that recent beheadings of hostages were done crudely, slowly, with smaller, dull blades. By contrast, he says, the beheadings allegedly carried out at the behest of the Saudi government are performed swiftly, usually by a man wielding a very sharp blade, a method some argue is at least fast, and minimizes pain. "It is in many ways very fast and painless. But it's barbaric. And it sends the wrong message," says Ali al-Ahmed. Executions by beheading were sanctioned and public in England until the 18th century and in France until the mid-20th century. The U.S. State Department's annual human rights report issued this year does not make specific reference to beheading in Saudi Arabia. But it does say: "The government executed persons for criminal offenses after closed trials making it impossible to assess whether legal protections were applied. In cases involving stoning, amputation or death, sentences must be reviewed by the country's highest court, the Supreme Judicial Council, and can only be enforced pursuant to a royal decree issued by the king." saudiinstitute.org The State Department won't even mention the word "beheading". oral clarity?

To: Keith Feral who wrote (147704)	10/13/2004 2:01:32 PM
From: jttmab	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

I can eat a steak at a restaraunt and buy a bottle of wine for about the same price I would pay at the store - minus the tip Another advantage to cooking at home..... Customer finds rat parts in food Piccadilly restaurant recalls turnip greens brand Wednesday, October 13, 2004 Posted: 8:48 AM EDT (1248 GMT) MORROW, Georgia (AP) -- The Piccadilly restaurant chain has recalled a brand of turnip greens sold at some of its 132 restaurants after a customer at a Georgia outlet bit into greens containing rat body parts. The parts came into the restaurant in Morrow frozen with the greens, which were supplied by a vendor, the chain's regional manager, Clint Celestin, said Tuesday.... cnn.com