[kj] back to oil!!!

Mister Black mrblack_000 at fsmail.net
Sat Jul 21 14:47:45 EDT 2007


Wait , wait , wait . Slow down Oliver , you are commenting on too many varied subjects and I'm finding hard to keep up , you seem to be on a trip around the world and talking about these Countries and all their leaders since 1930 , there are gaping holes in you theories , gaping holes which you cannot substantiate , you do not substantiate, but you just go rambling on to the next subject with yet mote unsubstantiated claims , for example .
You first mentioned that World leaders had to change their Turbans to appease the U.S , then you mention Afafat , Ataturk , Nuri and then you move on to state that a person wouldn't get a job dressed in anything other than a suit!!!!!!
O.K, for a start , none of the people that you mentioned ever wore a turban , a turban is a Religious symbol and a leader wouldn't remove it just to please another head of state . You stated that leaders had to change their style of dress to please the Americans........then you mentioned Arafat , which kind of disproves your point , he kept wearing an Arab headscarf up until his death , Qaddafi also continues to wear traditional Arab clothes . Then you now compare a present day Arab leader saying that the new leader doesnt go around wearing military clothes like Arafat used to , the gaping hole in your point is that military clothes arent traditional Arab clothes , they are also a western thing . So you beleive that present day Arab leaders should go around dressed like Arafat........who used to dress in a western style? That doesnt make sense
I would suggest that people wear Western clothes because they are the most comfortable and easiest to wear and people just like wearing them . And I must say that Ataturk failed , because Turks still have no fashion sense what so ever .
Now that we've slowed down , can I ask you to tel me who and what you are talking about :
What leader stopped wearing a turban to appease the Americans and what countries have non nuclear WMD's ? What are the Countries and what weapons do the possess?
Can we stick to these points ?


Ah, sorry for not being specific enough for you, Mister Black!

You asked what countries I've been to. George W. Bush has visited more countries than many people ever will, but I do not consider him an expert on global cultures. He maybe visited as many as Hitler, or Mother Theresa, or anyone else well traveled who hold a variety of opinions.

So - I'm not going to compare resumes and travelogues with you. Either my points are valid on their own merits or not. My travel itinerary should have no bearing on it. Gegnhis Khan visited a lot of countries. Personal anecdotes are poor things to extrapolate broadly from.

About leaders changing dress styles -- this became a big thing amongst the Turks esp. after Kemal Attaturk's forced secularization program. Do a search on how he especially commissioned Western garment manufacturers to ship in clothes for his "backwards" country's fashions. It was called "modernization" there, code word for "make us look more like European businessmen." Likewise, look at how Nuri of Iraq and the leader of Palestine dress. The latter isn't going around in military garb and a checked head scarf like Arafat.

Is that specific enough for these massive standards of proof you demand, that I am sure you also demand for positions you hold, too?

Ironically, earlier you were complaining about tangents from the "big picture" of this thread. Now you want specific leaders who changed dress styles to appear better for Western cameras. Is a man in a turban and long robes going into a job interview gonna get it over the guy who is, well, dressed for an interview? Probably not. That's the same sort of cultural power discrepancy that is at play, only magnified and on the world stage. Folks in non-industrialized countries have a better likelihood of staying economically afloat the more Western they change their preferences, including clothing, etc. We don't have to worry about looking them, conversely.
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