What's To Do????

At the urging of ultra[blue], a frequent and welcome commenter on my blog,  I am going to attempt to explain my thoughts on the state of security and the policies of the United States as they apply in the post 9/11 world. I fear my thoughts on this will run contrary to many of my countrymen as the US has strayed far from its founding principals.

In the beginning, the US was a colony of Great Britain. The thirteen original colonies were populated by misfits, criminals and other undesirables who left (or were deported from) England for those very reasons. Well, the English being who they were back then, started to abuse the American colonists and the rabble decided enough was enough!

There was the Boston Tea Party protest and the Declaration of Independence from our British oppressors. Wealthy American colonists such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and others decided to plan a new country. A country where every citizen has unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Founding Fathers had balls because they risked everything they owned and even their own lives to cross the powerful British Empire.

Such was the hatred of the yoke of British colonialism around America's neck, the Revolutionary War began. A bunch of rag-tag colonists hung on to defeat one of the most advanced military entities in the world at that time. British General Cornwallis surrendered and the world had a new country. Many folks forget that the USA was born of the blood of patriots. Please forgive us our zeal and pride, but we pulled off a Big One there!

Since then, Americans have had open arms to oppressed peoples from other countries because we kind of sympathized with their plight. We were there once. We wanted others to experience the Land of Opportunity. The Melting Pot.

Lately though, the dream fades. Immigrants have an entitlement mentality. Its no more what I can do for America, it is what can America do for me. I live in the UAE at present and I try to follow the rules here but I will never forget the time I flew to Hartford, Connecticut and none of the Muslim taxi drivers would stop by a 7/11 so I could get a six-pack of beer, that pissed me off!. If I was an Emirati and a taxi driver did that to me here in the UAE, he would be on the next flight back to Katmandu! I had no such recourse as a citizen in my own country.

That being said and to get back to the point, freedom has its risks and I am willing to take those chances, just like  the founding fathers of my country. Personally, I would rather have free access to my flight without being frisked as a criminal. I am willing to accept some losses rather than the endure the "everyone is suspect" mentality. It is just damn un-American.

As a side note, I have to commend the UAE for managing the expats here. We are all on our best behavior for fear of jail and/or deportation. I think somewhere in between the lax USA policy and the firm UAE policy is the way to go. The UAE does do a lot of things right! I am still here!!!

The US has to live with the past liberal immigration policies, the camel's nose is under the tent and there is not much that can be done now. I no longer think that it is a good idea to target those of Arabic origins as the bad guys will use grannies and babies as a workaround. I spoke out of anger earlier. I really have no solution. We just have to accept the risks as free people and trust each other.

Don't forget that anyone who does something "funny" on a US domestic flight is now subject to an extreme ass whuppin from fellow passengers or a bullet from a Federal Air Marshall, so it is somewhat of a self-correcting situation. Not to mention a USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon escort to the destination, weapons hot.

Peace, Bro!

Fun Food

I was at the local grocery market the other day and as usual, on the alert for offbeat and interesting things that tickle my funny-bone. This is a habit of mine in an attempt to turn mundane chores into something fun. Most of the time I am unsuccessful in the transformation but I find enough gems to keep me playing the game.  I was not disappointed on this trip.

American supermarkets are boring. They are homogeneous. One looks like the other with the same products, presentation and no surprises. Ethnic foods are relegated to a half an aisle next to the kitty litter. Here in the Abu Dhabi, everyone is from somewhere else and the market managers have to cater to the tastes of folks from Asia, Europe, the Subcontinent and of course the Middle East. This makes for an entertaining stroll through down the aisles. You never know what you are going to see. The inventory seems to change each week. One time you may see English cookies and the next, ghee from India occupying the same spot the cookies previously did. It;s a grab bag and you cannot rely on your favorite stuff always being consistently available. Part of the charm, I guess.

I am fortunate that my nearest market has a pork room. This is a small room off the main floor with its own doors displaying large signs warning that entrance is for non-Muslims only. I look at it as a generous gesture by the UAE government to allow us expats to slake our cravings for pig.and I appreciate it as a lover of bacon and grilled hotdogs. Turkey bacon substitutes suck!

So, the other day I walk into the pork room, got my bacon and Oscar Meyer links and continue to the freezer on the opposite side of the room to see what various porcine delights were available there, then I saw this:

Bingo! I just found my Gem o' the Day. Out came the mobile phone for this image, much to the bemused stares of the Filipino pork butchers nearby. 

Now the maker of these delicacies, cdo/Sea Quest, looks like a Western Company and they really should know a little bit more about marketing. I'll bet my last beer that the frozen items inside the bag are not actual cephalopod testicles but are probably the tenderest of squid meat formed into a round shape. They probably taste very good and would be something I would enjoy, but when the name "Squid Balls" is emblazoned over a clear plastic window showing some round objects inside, I get an unnerving impression. Call them "Calamari Rounders"or"Spheres Du Mar"; anything but Squid Balls!

I can imagine this Marketing Executive in the product launch meeting surrounded by his peers and the CEO of Sea Quest suddenly standing up and saying, "I know, let's call 'em Squid Balls!!!". They should have thrown him down an elevator shaft. But instead, they went with it. The plastic bag makers probably pissed themselves with laughter when they got the details of the order.

What Squid Balls were doing in the Pork Room is also lost on me.

As if this isn't bad enough, fellow bloggers Neil and Caz found these items in a downtown market: The Real Thing  A Pakistani friend of mine says these are a real delicacy back there. Bet you can't eat just one! They eat them in the US too, also known as  Rocky Mountain Oysters. All I can do is wince.

I did buy a bag of these though:

These are fried peas coated with hot Japanese wasabi mustard powder. They are very good and I was surprised to find them available here, but I don't understand the "& YOU" part. The peas never delivered on the personal relationship promised by this phrase. Come to think of it they kind of look like little green.................uh never mind!!!!

 .

Self Inflicted Wounds

There was another scare in U.S. airspace today when a Qatari man with diplomatic status caused a disturbance aboard United 663 en-route from Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. to Denver International. Apparently the man spent a long time in the lavatory which aroused the attentions of an onboard incognito Federal Air Marshal. He was suspected of sneaking a cigarette in the lav.

It is reported that the diplomat then made some comments out loud when he returned to his seat that he was having trouble getting his Bally loafers to detonate. That was all it took, he was restrained, law enforcement officers were requested upon arrival in Denver and last, but definitely not least, two F-16 Fighting Falcons were scrambled to escort the United flight the rest of the way to Denver, air-to-air weapons systems "hot", no doubt. Thumbs on the buttons.

The perp, Mohammed Al-Madadi

Now this photo shows what appears to be a normal, bright, well adjusted young man. What caused him to go off the deep end is a matter of speculation. Maybe it is a combination of tequila shots at the Reagan International Airport bars, his "untouchable" status back in Qatar and the diplomatic immunity he enjoyed in the U.S. that created his mischievous mental mix. 

International concourse, KJFK, can't we all just get along?

So here we have another person of Arab origin threatening a U.S. airline flight. What people from this region of the world I now reside in have to learn is that since that horrible day when my country sustained a coordinated attack against New York City, the Pentagon and a failed attempt on the Capitol building that ended up in a remote field in Pennsylvania, that the United States is VERY, VERY, VERY concerned about not letting the same thing happen again. 

Verrazano Bridge, South of Manhattan

What that means to me personally is extra scrutiny and hassle when I travel. I don't like that as I have been a straight-up Patriot all my life and a U.S. Navy Officer to boot. The U.S. bends over backwards to be fair and not "racially profile" but I cringe when I see 80 year old grandmothers in wheelchars and 6 year old children get patted-down as if they are close relatives of OBL, who is probably deceased anyway..

FL390

The point is that I work with some really good people from this part of the world who just happen to be Muslims. They are ordinary folks just like the people I worked with back in the U.S.with the same hopes, dreams and trials of life that anyone has. I consider them my friends, they are not the radicals the American government and media portray then as. They don't hate the U.S. and in fact most of them have family in the USA working and contributing to the economy. They love to visit the US. and have very positive things to say about Americans. Some would like to live there.

On Approach

The Ass-Clowns like our Qatari diplomatic friend, the the shoe bomber and the underwear bomber make it so much more difficult not only for us regular United States citizens to travel freely, the honest, hardworking people from the Middle East are going to be scrutinized even more because of their nationality. All the recent incidents involved people with Arabic origins and/or names. Give me a good reason why the TSA shouldn't racially or nationally profile given the facts!

 

I hear it is tough enough to get even a visitor's visa to the United States as it is for legitimate people from certain countries. Well, do you you blame us? There is a track record here that is hard to deny. 

I am angry about this as it negatively effects me and my Muslim friends and co-workers. Where is the peer pressure? The American people are going to demand racial/national/religious screening and I think it is justified for now, and I can't disagree considering the history and circumstances of late

 It's going to be more difficult for the good citizens of some countries to visit or live in the USA for now..The radicals and in this most recent event, the arrogance of a diplomat with legal immunity from an Arabian Gulf country sealed that fate.

He was let go, but the stench remains. I could never get away with what he did as a foreigner over here. Jail and deportation would be certain for such actions.

As  US citizen, I think we have been too kind up to now and with apologies to my friends over here, I now think that a few bad apples ruined the barrel and there is plenty of justification for profiling. Just too much crap happening from a certain part of the world lately!

I would prefer to see the US as a welcoming country to all peoples of the world, that is the strength of our heritage, but some want to undermine that. A shame!

  

Ode to Dust!

Sandstorms are a common occurrence here. View out of my window.

Damn Dust!

In my eyes and in my hair

And other places I dare not share

Fouls my couch and fouls my chair

I’d trade my Kingdom for some clean air

Damn Dust!

Always filthy is my car

In the summer one can’t see far

I know I can’t win this war

I just want to hole-up in a bar

Damn Dust!

Covers my clothes and covers my floor

Intrusive clouds when I crack my door

Open the windows, in comes more

Pisses me off to the core

Damn Dust!

Makes me have to clean each day

And I just ain’t made that way

All my efforts to do what may

Is never enough to keep it at bay

Damn Dust!

Between my teeth I feel the grit

Pardon me if I need to spit

More of this and I’ll have a fit

I just had to pick this nit

Mangroves Again

I know you all tire of reading my multiple posts about my haircuts and mangrove flat kayak trips but I had to post this experience I had last weekend. There were so many incredible things I saw it is worth note.

My Italian co-worker and boat owner, "Il Capitano" and I planned a second kayak trip, this time with fishing gear, food and cooking utensils as a longer day of exploring was anticipated. The security guys at the launch point amazingly recognized us from the previous excursion and waved us on as if we were long-lost cousins. I guess we made some kind of impression before.

That hurdle being jumped, we ventured out into the bounding main and set a course for the same area as last time. Once we got there, we noticed that the tide was running into the estuary this time and the environment looked completely different. What was bare sand on the previous trip was now covered in water.

So it was decided to take a narrow slough which opened up into a wide flat covered in a few feet of water. The strong tidal current was at our backs which made progress easy. Eager to wet the hooks, we beached on a small piece of dry ground. Il Capitano jumped out of the boat and immediately sank up to his knees in soft sand. After pulling him out with the aid of a paddle, we settled down to catch lunch.

Easy paddling with tide at our backs

Acres (hectares) of shallow waters in high tide mode

Initial landfall at this island...it was covered in the high tide 45 minutes later and we had to go.

"Il Capitano" enjoying a frosty malt beverage

We spotted this covered walkway within paddling distance

The buildings in the background were our launching point, a lot of real estate was covered

So when we no fish were caught and the dry land we were beached on was rapidly reclaimed by the tide, we thought paddling to the mysterious walkway would be a good idea. with the aid of the incoming tide, we made it there in record time. Somewhere along the way my camera ingested some salt water and refused to record any more images.

We reached the wooden walkway and made it our base of operations for awhile. It seemed about 2 kilometers long and was of extremely high quality construction. We fished for awhile and caught nothing so the charcoal grilled burgers tasted good. On three occasions I saw wild gazelles prancing around in the area......and my damn camera was shot. Their hoofprints were everywhere in the sand. Abu Dhabi literally means "Father of the Gazelle".

The snakelike, palm frond covered walkway we found. This became Base-Ops as no one was around...wild Gazelles were abundant though! We fished at the main channel in the center of this Google Earth view

An interesting thing happed during the time I was on the elevated walkway fishing and eating hamburgers, The tidal current slowed, stopped and the reversed all in a couple of hours. That meant an almost effortless trip back as we had the tidal current at our backs once again. The equivalent of going downhill both ways. I have never seen tides change that much in so little time. I would estimate the current at about 5-7 knots due to the narrowness of the channels. I was pleased at this as I am a lazy bastard and did not relish paddling back that far against the strong current we had at our advantage on the way in . The return voyage ended up a relaxing sightseeing trip.

We got skunked fishing, but I did have a stone crab on a hook when I pulled up my line when it was time to go. I let the poor fellow go. He was quite agitated!

The main thing I regret is that my camera failed on me. To be fair, it was not waterproof, it was 4 years old and it had less megapixels than my mobile phone, but I missed some of the best photos in my life. It served me well as a secondary device lately. I don't take my good Canon SX10is on such trips.

The last image of my Canon A510 PowerShot. My right foot in perfect macro focus, faithful 'til the end! It freaked out after this!

The Dearly Departed......I took thousands of photos with this

I now have an excuse to get a new toy....a waterproof camera. that is always fun although I regret missing some wonderful shots last weekend. 

The weather and water temperature were perfect and I didn't have to swat one insect the whole time. How cool is that?! It will be incredibly hot here in the near future which will make such voyages very uncomfortable. I hope we can squeeze another in by then!

Abu Dhabi Cocktail Club

Cocktail Club

I was watching Fox News (fair and balanced---we report...you decide) one day in January and instead of the constant commercial breaks that tout pharmaceuticals, food /diet aids and cosmetics back in the USA, we get the Fox News Extra to fill in for the commercial time outs. These vignettes are usually 3 or 4 minutes of an automobile test, a musical interlude, celebrity reports and other things of passing interest instead of the aforementioned commercial crap the unfortunate viewers in the US are exposed to.

The particular Extra I saw featured an interview with the creator of meetup.com. He explained how his website provides a venue where like-minded folks can start a social group. It sounded like a good concept so I went to the WWW to check it out. Lo and behold, I found a few groups in Abu Dhabi.. The one that caught my interest was the Cocktail Club. I enjoy a pint now and then and being a social animal, it seemed to be a good fit.

I joined the group and nervously cabbed it into the city for the inaugural meetup at the Royal Meridian Hotel downtown. When I first met others in the group there, I was pleasantly surprised! There was a good cross-section of expats and all were very open and fun-loving people. Everyone was in a good mood and I met some great people! I felt comfortable instantly. Although I enjoy hanging with my co-workers, it was refreshing meeting folks from other backgrounds and vocations.

The group has since had another Meetup at the One 2 One hotel and that was a success, too. I ended up with a cool ashtray obtained by somewhat dodgy means!

Prized Ashtray

Thanks to Victoria for the concept and execution. She has done a fine job! I recommend all fun-loving people in Abu Dhabi to check out the group at: Cocktail Club

Cheers!

Land of the Giants

Last weekend I visited a little known place in the hinterlands south of Abu Dhabi. It is called the Emirates National Automobile Museum. This is not your usual "walk around an nod" museum. I actually liked it here!

Entrance to the ENAM

It is filled chock-a-block with the loud, smelly, powerful machines that I have always loved.....cars! Not the trendy, wimpy hybrid electro-green variants we are plagued with today. I am talking about Hot Rods that make our chests rumble when they are at full throttle. Machines that burn dead dinosaur juice and make a proper show of power! I am partial to big American V-8 engines. Crude as they may be, there is nothing that sounds like them! They are an exclusive Detroit invention and the Europeans and Japanese have tried but have yet to duplicate the raw torque, power and sound of these engines!

ENAM was designed and built by a member of the UAE Royal Family, Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nayhhan, AKA the Rainbow Sheikh. He has generously opened his museum to the public. He is well known for his chartiable contributions. The museum is free to all and I met visitors from all over the world there.

The Sheikh is apparently a fan of all things automotive, he likes his cars so much, he made large examples of them. Take a look at this motorhome in the parking lot of the museum.

The Guinness Book of World Records Motorhome. Eight bedrooms and me by the tire.

Another Type of Motorhome 

No....this is not a photoshop,,,,it's the real deal! The detail is amazing!

I considered quitting drinking that day!

A Lockheed L1011 sitting on the desert sands.

A 1950's Dodge Super Lancer, when Detroit ruled the world!

Typical Americana. The Coral color was popular in the 50's.

Me standing in front of the Giant Power Wagon,  HRH Sheikh Zayed in the background. 
There are 4 bedrooms in the big truck...perfect for a night out at the drive-in movies!

"Screaming Chicken" on a 70's Pontiac Firebird Trans Am hood.

I brought my checkbook...OK, How much?

An evil looking Dodge Prowler....The Rainbow Sheikh seems very partial to Dodge automobiles

A classic Rolls Royce. They are fine machines but all British cars tend to leak oil. Note the drip pan. Part of the charm. I guess.

One of the Sheikh's personal Mercedes Benz.

I still can't get over this thing!

My favorite grillage!

The ultimate UAE commuter vehicle! 

Lunar Excursion Module

WTF?!?!

Safarimobile. Nothing like standing out while trying to blend in!

An early 70's Cadillac Eldorado Convertable. This beast sports a 500 cubic inch V-8 and front wheel drive. My brother owned one back in the day and it was like driving an aircraft carrier! Carbon footprint be damned! A fun car!

OK, I am secure in my manhood but I don't think I would be driving this thing around! That would just be asking for an ass whuppin!

Thanks to the "Rainbow Shiekh" for this museum. He has an amazing amount of vehicles that he obviously takes care of and allows us common folk to see for free.

I wish I could tell you exactly how to get there, but my Navigator and I got slightly lost on the way due to a severe dust storm enroute which masked landmarks. My GPS blew up, too! Navvie had been there before and we were "bewildered" for awhile. I had a full tank of petrol so I was never worried.

We finally made it due to Navvie's razor-sharp recollective skills ( I would have ended up in Saudi Arabia as is my male right, I never ask for directions) but an obscure roundabout was discovered that pointed the way.

From one gearhead to others, this is a must see! There is something for everyone there!

Kudos to the Rainbow Shiekh, he doesn't have to do it but he does! Cool Stuff!

I am still getting nightmares about the giant Jeep!