Blah, blah, blah

“The Arabs should stop whining.” Zvi Bar’el. Haaretz.

Palestinian families and Israeli soldier

Zvi Bar’el addresses an article by Mamoun Fandy (“The Cards are in the Hands of the Arabs”) that was published in Saudi Arabian newspaper Asharq Alawsat on the eve of Bush’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

Fandy argues that Arabs should take advantage of Bush and his media’s attention and have Saudi Arabia call together Syria and Israel to meet with Bush to negotiate a deal between Israel and Syria in order to isolate Iran (like Bush wants). By aligning themselves with Bush through Saudi Arabia, all Arabs would be well-received in the west: “This dramatic move could change public opinion in the West, the United States, and Israel about the seriousness of the Arabs for peace and could change the entire dialogue.” Is he saying that the only way to show you want peace is to surrender the struggle for justice and accept domination? How can domination ever be peace?

Palestinian farmer trying to prevent Israeli soldiers from destroying his land.

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A good article on food safety in the US News and World Report. “U.S. Food Safety: Home-Grown Problems Abound As the variety of tainted products widens, the concerns about oversight deepen”

More than ever before, Americans are worried about the safety of the food they put in their mouths — and with good reason.In little less than a year and a half, the nationwide recalls of tainted products have formed their own peculiar food pyramid: meats, vegetables, salad, snacks, fast food, even dessert items. The various pathogens in those products killed at least three people, sickened more than 1,300 others and touched almost every state in the country as well as Canada.

Why are there more safety concerns? Fewer inspectors, maybe.

Some estimates suggest there are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues, with safety tests for domestically produced foods down almost 75 percent — from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 in 2006.

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“Dubai declares national holiday for Bush visit” CNN.

“Even before Bush touched down in Dubai, he had an impact. The government declared Monday a national holiday and shut down many main roads and bridges.”

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“‘I’m most impressed with what I’ve seen here. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and equally importantly, the desire to make sure all aspects of society have hope and encouragement,’ Bush later told a gathering of entrepreneurs and others affiliated with a young leaders’ group.”