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krome2ez

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Everything posted by krome2ez

  1. Hero's Gift of Life July 25, 2011 After getting soldier’s heart, woman befriends his mom, comrades By Janelle Walker Sun-Times Media Jill Stephenson never talked to her son, Ben Kopp, about whether he’d want to donate his organs when he died. It isn’t something a mother — particularly a single mother of one son — ever wants to think about, said Stephenson, of Rosemount, Minn. Even after her son enlisted in the Army and became a Ranger stationed in Afghanistan, they did not discuss his final wishes. On July 10, 2009, 21-year-old Ben Kopp was hit by an IED in Afghanistan. He was transported to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he was declared brain dead eight days later. Before he was deployed, Kopp had agreed to be an organ donor. That saved the life of Winnetka’s Judy Meikle. Watch the video here: http://nation.foxnews.com/military/2011/07/25/heros-gift-life Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/6481181-423/after-getting-soldiers-heart-woman-befriends-his-mom-comrades.html#ixzz1TWW4WkpC
  2. HYPOCRITE: Soros Under Fire for Escaping Obama Finance Laws He Pushed AP File By Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters Prominent Republican Senator Richard Shelby accused billionaire investor George Soros of hypocrisy on Wednesday for evading new hedge fund regulations he once publicly backed. Soros recently said he would return money to outsider investors and only manage his own family's funds to escape the Securities and Exchange Commission's new hedge fund adviser registration rules. "It appears that Mr. Soros talked up financial reform only to sell it short," Shelby told Reuters in a statement. "Don't be surprised to see his fellow Wall Street financiers follow suit. They'll use their political clout and legal muscle to sidestep Dodd-Frank, while their smaller competitors and businesses take the hit." By giving back investors' money -- which is a small slice of the roughly $25 billion Soros oversees -- Soros is taking advantage of an exemption in a recently approved SEC rule required by the Dodd-Frank Act. The exemption allows family offices not only to avoid the registration requirements, but also to dodge a greater disclosure burden that requires big fund managers to turn over confidential data to help the SEC police systemic risk. A spokesman for Soros Fund Management declined to comment. http://nation.foxnews.com/george-soros/2011/07/28/hypocrite-soros-under-fire-escaping-obama-finance-laws-he-pushed?cmpid=NL_FiredUpFoxNation_20110729 Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/senator-shelby-says-soros-hypocrite-reforms-dodge-041709270.html#ixzz1TWKnPdYR
  3. BUT WAIT !!!! THERE'S MORE !!!!! If you act NOW, with-in the next 5 minutes, we'll double the offer!!! Just pay seperate shipping and handling.
  4. US Want to See the Outfit That Allegedly Got an Ore. Woman Thrown Out of Walmart? Posted on July 29, 2011 at 8:19am by Jonathon M. Seidl Print »Email » It was 90 degrees last Sunday when Sandy McMillin of Eugene, OR decided to head to a local Walmart with her sister. So she threw on what anyone would on a hot day: a string bikini top with bright red shorts. Like your eyes now, the details of what happened next are fuzzy. Or at least in dispute. McMillin says that five minutes into her trip, a Walmart employee told her to put a shirt over her bikini top or leave the store. “I was horrified,” McMillin told KVAL-TV. “I am embarrassed.” (actually the other customers were horrified) “We just walked in, straight over to the clothing,” her sister, Karla Vogt, added. “It’s wrong. If you don’t like the way someone looks, don’t look at them.” After that, McMillin said she was escorted out of the store. “I hadn’t done anything obnoxious or outlandish,” McMillin said. An attorney for the 51-year-old McMillin said the experience was embarrassing but he is more concerned about the way McMillin was treated because she is disabled from injuries suffered in motorcycle crashes. A spokeswoman for the Arkansas-based retail giant said the employee was responding to customer complaints and McMillin was not asked to leave the store. Still, KVAL says Walmart has apologized, and quotes spokeswoman Ashley Hardie. “We can understand her frustration. It was not our intent to offend the customer, and we have apologized to her,” Hardie said. “We have also reinforced with our associates our expectations of how to handle these matters.” McMillin says she’ll probably still shop at Walmart – but at a different store. The Associated Press contributed to this report. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/want-to-see-the-outfit-that-allegedly-got-an-ore-woman-thrown-out-of-wal-mart/ WARNING!!! Video not for the weak stomached!! Arghhh!!!!
  5. ..Million-Dollar Fender Bender A blonde woman driving a Bentley crashes into an Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Porsche. Insert punch line here. By Marco R. della Cava | Yahoo! Autos – Thu, Jul 28, 2011 2:21 AM EDT Monte Carlo's Place du Casino was the site of exotic automotive Armageddon. Nothing in Monte Carlo is understated, from the baubles to the yachts to the bank accounts. Now add traffic pile-ups to that list. The Hope Diamond of fender benders unfolded yesterday in possibly the most conspicuous stretch of asphalt in the .75-square-mile principality — the round-about in front of the James Bond-worthy casino — when three blondes in a jelly-bean blue Bentley Azure ($363,000) scraped the rear of a white Mercedes-Benz S-Class (a paltry $91,000). And that was merely the appetizer. Served up for the main course were a hapless black Ferrari F430 ($186,000), which was hit nose-first by the 2.7-ton Bentley. Then, like two tankers mashing in the fog, a four-door Aston Martin Rapide ($228,000) crunched into the Azure’s passenger door. The cherry on this metal, plastic and carbon-fiber shattering souffle: a stray Porsche 911 ($77,000). In all, a Titanic mess in mere moments, involving nearly a million dollars of primo automotive machinery. How did this happen? A quick photo-based forensics of the scene based on knowledge of the Place du Casino offers many clues. What’s evident is that these five vehicles did not all converge on each other in one massive supercar big bang. The Bentley clearly was at fault. Its nose is pointing straight at the casino’s entrance, an entrance where fine cars are routinely valet-parked diagonally. It seems that the Bentley’s driver thought she could sneak past the white Mercedes, then swerved right when she realized they were going to collide, which in turn clipped the Rapide coming up on her right. The Ferrari and the Porsche were collateral damage - parked directly in the Bentley’s now diverted path. Any chance that the trio responsible for this mess — whose damage tally will easily hit six-figures — would get to scamper off anonymously after a quick chat with Monaco’s famously efficient and ever-present white-gloved police were dashed given both the coordinates of the crash and the time of year. If there ever was a season when this moneyed retreat is more crowded than Times Square on New Year’s Eve, it’s summer. Photos of the crowd, gleefully gawking and photographing the impromptu car show run amok, only go to show that when rich people do dumb things in a big way, the masses are more than happy to snicker. .. http://autos.yahoo.com/news/million-dollar-fender-bender.html
  6. Sorry, but I agree with Gina and let me tell you why. Your worried, rightfully so, about the weak and mis-informed being taken. But by allowing the Okie posts, and the like, one can read the replies from the informed, and see for them self if true. I feel that I was blessed to be led to DV. I learned so very much from the members here. If the Okie posts aren't here to be debunked, then the poor saps at Okie's site would have no where to go to see the truth. They would continue to read it as gospel, being force fed the kool-aid and thinking that it was ok. All you that get frustrated over these posts should just by-pass them, before you need by-pass surgery. Take them for what they are, entertainment. Don't like, don't read em. I know this ride is frustrating. I can not wait till it's over, and I get my life back. One poster stated to just take a break for awhile like he did, stating that he took time off to go to his ranch in Texas. Wow, I wanted to punch that dude in the face. Some of us are in a financial bind, and no I didn't invest more than I can afford. But still live pay-check to pay-check, and it is very frustrating having our hope crushed every Monday. All I can say is, if it bothers you that much stick to the news and stay away from the rumors. Click on the links with names you trust. Sonny. Scooter. Adam. etc.... Hope you all have a great day. And thank you DV and all of the members for being here.
  7. Rep Says 40 Americans With Jihadists in Somalia July 27, 2011 Associated Press|by Eileen Sullivan WASHINGTON -- More than 40 Americans have been recruited and radicalized by al-Qaida-linked terrorists in Somalia and have gone to the war-torn country to fight, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., plans to outline the findings of his committee's own investigation Wednesday during the third hearing in a series on Muslim radicalization in the U.S. U.S. counterterrorism officials have not confirmed the high numbers of Americans joining the Somali terror organization, al-Shabab. The government has said at least 21 Americans are believed to have traveled to Somalia to join the terror group, which began as a push to expel Ethiopian soldiers, and some of those young men have died in the fight. Al-Shabab has expanded its focus over the years, and it has aligned itself with other anti-Western terror groups. Republican staff on the Homeland Security Committee also found that more than 20 Canadians had also been recruited and radicalized and joined the fight in Somalia. Canadian police have said several Somali youths from the Toronto area are suspected to have traveled to Somalia to join al-Shabab. In his prepared opening remarks, obtained by The Associated Press, King said al-Shabab is "engaged in an ongoing, successful effort to recruit and radicalize dozens of Muslim-American jihadis, who pose a direct threat to the U.S." King said al-Shabab is not just a Somali problem - the organization has a large cadre of American jihadis and ties to al-Qaida, particularly the terror group's Yemen branch. "We must face the reality that al-Shabab is a growing threat to our homeland," King said. King has been criticized for unfairly singling out Muslims in his series of hearings over the past few months on Islamic radicalization in the U.S. Some of those who oppose these inquisitions have said the committee should also focus on the threat other types of extremism, including right-wing extremism in the U.S., particularly as that ideology appeared to motivate the man accused in the recent deadly attacks in Norway. http://www.military.com/news/article/rep-says-40-americans-with-jihadists-in-somalia.html?ESRC=eb.nl
  8. No way, your in the Porker Pen of Fame!!
  9. 'Band of Brothers' Soldier Turns 90 Wendy Victora - Northwest Florida Daily News Jul 27, 2011 . SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL -- On Monday, Roy Gates wore his Easy Company cap commemorating his role with the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He also wore a T-shirt made for him by the staff of Grand Boulevard Health and Rehab, with his name on the front in lime green paint and the number 90 ironed onto the back. Gates, a former Seagrove resident, celebrated his 90th birthday Monday with a party at his new home. The humble World War II veteran was one of 20 contributors to historian Steven Ambrose's now-famous book, "Band of Brothers." The book was turned into an HBO miniseries in 2001. He has stories to tell, but doesn't share them often. And he doesn't say much at all about the book or the mini-series. "It's a bunch of hooey," says his close friend, Tom McGee of Seagrove, adding that Gates was not mentioned prominently enough in either. But, he adds, Gates has stories, if he can be prodded into telling them. For example, the second lieutenant was there when Easy Company freed a number of concentration camp survivors at the end of the war. "It was terrible," Gates said. "Pretty dramatic to see the prisoners running from the camp. So emaciated that some of them died. "We caught the general who was commandant of that place and we shot him after a firefight," he added. On a more upbeat note, Gates was with the 101st when they went to Eagle's Nest -- Adolph Hitler's private retreat -- in the final days of the war. While the German leader was spending his last days underground in Berlin, Gates and his fellow para-troopers were joyriding in Hitler's touring car. And Gates, who liked to drink, was put in charge of Hitler's stash of exotic champagnes and whiskeys. "What did I do with it?" Gates asked, smiling. "Drank it." He also made sure that officers' clubs and NCO clubs all the way back to France were well-supplied with the expensive liquor. And he helped them make sure nothing was wasted. "Top of the line," Gates reminisces, smiling. "Top grade." For his 90th birthday, friends and family came from across the country. Among them was his son-in-law, R.D. Martin of Texas, who read "Band of Brothers" and says he learned a lot about the devotion of men like Gates. "He was quite a leader," he says. "And the people that he was leading, according to the book, really trusted him. "He was just a part of the Band of Brothers -- a very important part of the war." http://www.military.com/entertainment/offbeat/band-of-brothers-soldier-turns-90?ESRC=soldiertech.nl
  10. CAGW Names Rep. Edward Markey Porker of the Month (Washington, D.C.) - Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) its July 2011 Porker of the Month for accusing proponents of federal spending cuts of indifference toward potential victims of weather emergencies. On July 19, 2011, Rep. Markey issued a press release in which he accused House Republicans of “foolishly cutting funding for our nation’s weather and climate forecasters.” According to Rep. Markey, reducing expenditures for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – which contains the National Weather Service (NWS) – “won’t change the climate or end a heat wave, but … will lengthen the time it takes to alert our citizens about an incoming storm, or reduce our ability to give our nation’s farmers the information they need to manage their crops.” Rep. Markey added, “When a tornado or other deadly weather event is bearing down on you, minutes matter. Yet these kinds of vital capabilities don’t seem to matter to House Republicans.” Contrary to Rep. Markey’s accusations, spending at the NOAA is greater than ever, and dramatically higher than it was just a few years ago. Its budget is slated to reach $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2012, an increase of 46 percent since 2002. And private organizations have been performing many of the functions of NOAA and NWS for decades. AccuWeather, founded in 1962, hosts more meteorologists at its headquarters than any other location in the world, and the Weather Channel, founded in 1981, provides storm tracking and forecasts for 98,000 locations around the globe. Both companies disseminate vital weather information on the Internet, television, and radio 24 hours a day. CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Rep. Markey, like many supporters of ever-expanding government spending, is under the impression that every federal outlay is essential. He suffers from ‘Washington Monument Syndrome,’ or ‘Mount Rushmore Syndrome,’ a common affliction among politicians who expect that cuts to any agency will immediately result in the termination of government’s most visible functions. Just as reductions to the National Park Service budget will not automatically cause Abraham Lincoln’s stone likeness in South Dakota to crumble, cuts to NOAA will not abruptly put Americans unwittingly in the path of a tornado or tsunami. “Private organizations can and will easily pick up any slack created by lower funding for NOAA and the NWS,” added Schatz. “Weather forecasting and storm tracking would survive and thrive, and there would likely be even more competition to improve the gathering and dissemination of weather forecasts.” For insinuating that politicians and citizens keen to prevent a fiscal disaster are guilty of apathy toward weather disaster victims, Rep. Edward Markey is CAGW’s July 2011 Porker of the Month. Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers. http://www.cagw.org/newsroom/porker-of-the-month/
  11. Morning Bell: The Obama EPA’s Brave New Future Mike Brownfield July 28, 2011 at 10:21 am Say goodbye to cars and trucks as you know them. Say hello to a brave new future ushered in by the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s one where the federal government reshapes a major U.S. industry by administrative fiat, all in pursuit of a policy goal that will cost money, jobs, and lives—all to satisfy the left’s environmentalist factions while dishing out taxpayer dollars to an Obama-favored unionized industry. That industry is the auto industry, and the Obama Administration is yet again using the mighty fist of the federal government to recast it in its own image. The Washington Post reports that the Obama Administration and the auto industry have reached agreement on new federal regulations that would raise fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, hitting an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025—a 40 percent reduction in fuel consumption compared to today. Those new standards, though designed to reduce greenhouse gases, bring with them significant costs. Fourteen of Michigan’s 15 representatives in Congress—including Democrat Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin—wrote a letter to the President warning him of the consequences that draconian fuel efficiency standards could have for their state, the home of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, citing a report by The Center for Automotive Research which warned that overly stringent standards could add $10,000 to the cost of a new car. Heritage’s Nicolas Loris explains how those higher costs can lead to job loss: Higher prices reduce demand and force people to hold onto their older vehicles longer. Reduced demand means fewer cars produced, which means automakers have to shed jobs. The Michigan-based consulting firm Defour Group projected that a 56 mpg standard would destroy 220,000 jobs. In addition to lost jobs and costlier cars, forcing automakers to achieve those standards could result in a loss of life. In order to make cars more fuel-efficient, automakers reduce the weight of vehicles. As Reason reports, “a 2002 National Academy of Sciences study concluded that CAFE’s downsizing effect contributed to between 1,300 and 2,600 deaths in a single representative year, and to 10 times that many serious injuries.” All the costs of the new CAFE standards aside, can the auto industry even achieve the high-mileage goals? Not without massive government subsidies. Reason‘s Shikha Dalmia explains: [E]ven the Environmental Protection Agency admits that the market share made up by hybrids and electric plug-ins will have to touch 49 percent if the industry is to come anywhere near compliance. Given that these vehicles now occupy only 3 percent of the market despite hefty subsidies, it is a foregone conclusion that expanding their presence will mean massively expanding subsidies to them. Has the promise of government subsidies been enough to convince the automakers and the United Auto Workers (UAW) to get on board with the job-killing standards? It sure looks that way. Despite reports that the government has “reached an agreement” with automakers on the new standards, the auto industry initially lobbied against the new rules, going so far as to prepare TV ads against the regulations to run in seven states. Strangely, the ads were pulled a week ago, possibly out of fear of further antagonizing the Obama Administration. And don’t forget, the industry faced the prospect of a higher than 60 mpg standard, as reported last October. Given no other option, it looks like they took the lesser of two evils. The UAW, too, had a change of heart on the regulations. Autoline Daily reports that the UAW met with automakers over its concern that the rule would mean fewer jobs because of its impact on SUV and truck production. But then on July 18, the UAW joined with members of the BlueGreen Alliance—which includes labor unions and environmental activist groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club—in calling for increased fuel efficiency standards in a letter to President Obama. The change in the UAW’s position might seem puzzling, were it not for a significant point in the letter. In addition to supporting the fuel efficiency standards, the UAW and the BlueGreen Alliance wrote that they support “federal efforts to assist the industry retool to meet demand for cleaner, more efficient cars.” And there’s the rub. Going green will require more green from the federal government in the form of cash for retooling—more government subsidies from the Obama Administration. Not surprisingly, the UAW is all for it. A blue-green alliance, indeed. And there you have it. The Obama Administration is issuing rules—without congressional approval—to significantly change the way the auto industry is doing business, forcing it to make vehicles that few are buying today (only 2,745 Chevy Volts have been sold this year). And in order to achieve that compliance, the Administration will likely have to fund the retooling plants and subsidize consumers’ purchase of the high-mileage cars. Meanwhile, the cost of gasoline is going up, yet the President has restricted drilling in the Gulf, leaving the United States unable to tap its domestic oil reserves. The President’s environmental and energy policy is driving in circles. The costs are high, and the American people and businesses will pay the price. http://blog.heritage.org/2011/07/28/morning-bell-the-obama-epas-brave-new-future/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell
  12. Sorry Poker. Already posted by hi-five. I found this and thought I would post on DV. Can anyone also confirm or debunk this? 7/28/2011 LONGFELLOW : CONFIRMED!!! at 10:18 am est the UN voted 15 to O FOR THE REMOVAL OF ALL REMAINING SANCTIONS OF CHPT 7, it took them three minutes. Read more:
  13. Wow are you all over the place. You start by bashing the Tea Party by lumping all for the actions of ONE individual, and now you lump the Tea Party and the WHOLE Republican party together?? I don't think so. For one, Boehner is not a Tea Party candidate. The Republicans from the "Gang of 6" were certainly not Tea Party candidates. And as far as Obama Care, that horrid piece of work was shoved down the throats of American's, when the majority did not want it. And the idiotic reply we got from Pelosi was "we have to pass it, to see what's in it." And how about this winner: What good is reading the (health care) bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill? — John Conyers (D-MI)
  14. "Slip" I doubt it. You started this thread, titling in your own words, bashing an entire party over one individual. Getting things done is what the Tea Party is attempting to do. They have no other hidden agenda, unlike the Dem and the Pubs. Control spending. Limited Government. Accountable Government. How can you not want that? And....???? What's your dirt on these fine people? That's what I thought. Nutt'n but hot air.
  15. Your showing your age with the MASH reference. You look much younger in your picture. Thanks for the post.
  16. It's a posting of some one elses story. A follow-up to a story that was touted as backing up the Dinar investment. Are we that thin skinned that we are going to bash with no indication that the poster him/her-self feels the same way?
  17. That's the best you got?? One politician who jumps on the coat tails of the Tea Party, claiming to be something he's not?? With the stand-up leadership you have, are you sure that you want to get into this debate?? Your just showing your ignorance of who and what the Tea Party is. Do a little more research than watching MSNBC, and you just might learn something.
  18. ‘Terminal’ Lockerbie Bomber Appears at Pro-Gadhafi Rally 2 Years After Release Posted on July 27, 2011 by Conservative Byte A Libyan man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie has attended a rally in Tripoli in support of Moammar Gadhafi, Libya’s state TV said. The TV broadcast showed a man wearing a white turban and sitting in a wheelchair during Tuesday’s rally and identified him as Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber. Al-Megrahi’s presence at the rally appeared to be another sign of defiance by the Gadhafi regime. Gadhafi, locked in a civil war with Libyan rebels for the past five months, has rejected calls by the international community that he step down. Instead, he has threatened to attack targets in Europe unless NATO stops its four-month-old bombing campaign of regime-linked installations in Libya, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians. http://conservativebyte.com/2011/07/terminal-lockerbie-bomber-appears-at-pro-gadhafi-rally-2-years-after-release/
  19. Man, hot coffee hurts as it spews out your nose!!!
  20. President of France, Sarkozy says -- quote -- "It's a failure. The truth is that in all our democracies, we've been too concerned about the identity of the new arrivals and not enough about the identity of the country receiving them." Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/special-report/transcript/french-president-nicolas-sarkozy-blasts-multiculturalism#ixzz1TPbeaxe0
  21. If you don't speak English you can't belong in Britain The inability to speak a host country’s language reinforces dangerous divisions in society – and it is a very reasonable requirement of any immigrant. By David Green 8:13PM BST 27 Jul 2011 When the last Labour government introduced a requirement that immigrants who wished to marry a British citizen must learn English before coming to live here, it struck most people as a perfectly reasonable expectation. But that requirement is now being challenged in the High Court on two grounds. First, it is said to be racially discriminatory, because it impacts disproportionately on certain ethnic groups; and second, under the European Convention on Human Rights, it is said to obstruct the right to family life. The case has been brought by Rashida Chapti, who wishes to bring her husband to the UK from India. Her barrister claims that the language requirement contravenes Article 8, the right to family life, and Article 12, the right to marry. Mrs Chapti is reported to have travelled back and forth between India and Leicester for about 15 years, but now wishes to settle here with her husband. The Labour government planned to bring the requirement into force in July 2011, but it was brought forward to November 2010 by the Coalition. When Theresa May, the Home Secretary, announced her plans, she said: “I believe being able to speak English should be a pre-requisite for anyone who wants to settle here. The new English requirement for spouses will help promote integration, remove cultural barriers and protect public services.” The requirement is not too exacting. Applicants will have to demonstrate English at “A1 level”, which requires them to demonstrate a basic command of conversational English, currently the same as the level required for skilled workers who have been offered a job in the UK. Similar expectations apply to immigrants seeking work throughout the EU. Since 2006, France has tightened up its rules. Anyone without a job, and especially if they lack scarce skills, must go through the French consulate in their home country. They have to prepare a petition showing why they should be allowed in. If they can’t speak French they have little chance. Australia requires applicants for work visas to have “vocational English”, which means they must be able to read, write, understand and speak English well enough to hold down a job. Applicants may be required to take an independent test of proficiency. Canada requires proficiency in either English or French, and also requires applicants to take a language test from an approved agency. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/immigration/8666450/If-you-dont-speak-English-you-cant-belong-in-Britain.html And what are we doing??
  22. HOLMES: Muslim world still anti-Western despite Obama By Kim R. Holmes - - The Washington Times 5:53 p.m., Wednesday, July 27, 2011 President Obama entered office promising a new dawn in America’s relations with Muslim nations. He reached out to the Muslim world, offering apologies and a warm embrace. The theory was that, by showing more understanding of Muslim grievances, they would respond in kind. It didn’t turn out that way. A recent Pew Research Center survey of opinions in the Muslim world shows America’s image there has not improved. In Jordan, Turkey and Pakistan - Muslim nations with which the U.S. maintains close relations - views are more negative today than a year ago. Most Muslims disapprove of how Mr. Obama has responded to the Arab Spring. If anything, paranoia about the U.S. is worse today than it was a few years ago. Most Muslims surveyed by Pew in March and April do not believe that Arabs were responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Indeed, the survey found no Muslim public in which even 30 percent accept the fact that Arabs conducted the attacks. Particularly depressing, Muslims in Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey - again countries with historically good ties to the West - are even less likely to believe it today than in 2006. A paradox emerges in these findings. The more Westerners try to accept blame for bad relations with the Muslim world, the more the Muslim world blames Westerners. Almost 30 percent of Americans hold themselves responsible for bad relations with the Muslim world. Muslims mainly blame Westerners. Majorities in six of seven Muslim nations believe Westerners are mostly to blame. That figure goes as high as 75 percent in Turkey and 72 percent in Pakistan. Which raises a question: If Muslim people are anti-Western because they believe, incorrectly, that Westerners are largely anti-Muslim, what can we do about it? Their grievances are so entrenched that very little of what Americans say or do will change their opinions because they are based not on reality, but on imagination. Most Muslims also blame the West for their economic ills, even though their own economically oppressive governments are the root of the problem. America’s support of Israel is a huge negative in their eyes, but so, too, is our support for the regimes that rule over them. This may be understandable, but I doubt that a wholesale U.S. condemnation of regimes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other Arab states would make Muslim publics any less anti-American. After all, the U.S. actually went to war to remove genocidal regimes in Bosnia and Iraq, and all we got for our trouble was widespread condemnation in the Muslim world, not to mention assertions that we did so mainly to kill Muslims. Here’s the rub: The U.S. can try to do the right thing like removing genocidal regimes and abandoning oppressive authoritarians such as former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, but it does little or nothing to change Muslim views of America. Muslims claim to want more democracy, of which America is the standard bearer, but their anti-American complexes and grievances are so huge that they are forever trying to find some third Muslim way that ignores hundreds of years of historical experience, born mainly in the West, of what works and what doesn’t. This is not about who’s right or wrong. We can argue with Muslim nations all day long about our support for Israel, but it won’t make any difference. In fact, Israel could disappear tomorrow, and we would still have a problem. The root of the problem is a great historical divide, going back centuries, which will not be easily manipulated by public diplomacy programs or expressions of good will. This is a problem to be managed, not solved. No amount of Obama-like engagement will change Muslim public opinion about America and the West. They hold their views for historically complex reasons, which more often than not are reflections of their internal problems rather than objective reactions to what we do. • Kim R. Holmes, a former assistant secretary of state, is a vice president at the Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org). Follow him on Twitter @kimsmithholmes. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/27/muslim-world-still-anti-western-despite-obama/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Heritage%2BHotsheet
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