AW: [ RadSafe ] Benefit/Harm from U.S. Army in Afghanistan

[Steven Dapra]

Nov. 2

         According to Wikipedia, “ugly American” is an epithet used to 
refer to perceptions of loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless and 
ethnocentric behavior of American citizens mainly abroad, but also at 
home.  Although the term is usually associated with or applied to 
travellers and tourists, it also applies to US corporate businesses in the 
international arena.”  (citations omitted)  Wikipedia invokes the Encarta 
dictionary and Dictionary.com as giving similar definitions.

         My sister (who was born and raised in the United States) traveled 
in Europe frequently between approximately 1980 and 2000.  She and her 
husband lived in West Germany for some five years in the 1990s.  She told 
me once that during her travels she had personally observed many 
loud-mouthed, demanding, and arrogant Americans.

The book “The Ugly American” (1958) was written by William Lederer and 
Eugene Burdick.

         The link to the Wikipedia article is 
<ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_American>.  The site has a summary of the 
book.  I read it over 40 years ago, however I can remember virtually none 
of it and hence will not comment on it.

         Franz makes a few legitimate points, however at present I'm not 
going to address any of what he wrote.

Steven Dapra


At 07:30 PM 11/2/08 +0100, Franz Schönhofer wrote:
>RADSAFERs,
>
>I try to comment on Howard Longs political excursion from a context
>including radioactivity and nuclear topics - they are involved indeed and I
>hope that Marcel accepts this opinion.
>
>Reading Howard Longs bla-bla about "liberation, freedom, democracy, net gain
>for the US, "prosperity" (for whom?)" is annoying and only shows that he has
>not the slightest clue about the situation of states, their infrastructure,
>the living conditions of their inhabitants, diseases, poverty, risk for life
>etc. Etc. Howard Long is a typical species called "The Ugly American", a
>term created to my knowledge by Graham Greene in one of his books, where he
>gives an excellent characterisation of this type of American set against the
>background of the French war in Indochina. Needless to say that I have
>during my many visits in the USA not encountered any of these "ugly
>americans" personally, but judging from the press and its description of US
>politicians and of course Howard Long I know, that they exist. Needless to
>say that people I meet are usually not of the lowest classes. But it was
>amazing during my visit to my beloved South West last October, that most
>people I met at the cultural and outstanding landscape sites started to
>complain about the then and still present administration, without any
>provocation from my side. Here on RADSAFE I read about proposals to attack
>China, Iran, Cuba and North Korea. Unbelievable - shame on you!
>
>I am not going to react on the "benefits" for the USA, but I have noticed
>that a so called "radiological threat" has been used extensively by the US
>administration to spread fear among US citizens and to gain support for the
>most suppressive actions. All those nonsensical actions and the waste of
>money for "surveillance" (which actually has another purpose!!!!), which are
>obviously there only to scare people and to put them into a state of
>insecurity. Only today morning in Rabat, the capital of Marocco they took
>away at the airport from me a very expensive tiny scissor for nails, about
>three centimeters long without handle.
>
>The possible consequences of a "dirty bomb" have been discussed extensively
>on RADSAFE and except some hardliners agreed that the damage of this would
>be mostly the conventional explosive - but still we read on RADSAFE about
>the terrible threat of dispersion of some radionuclides like Co-60 or
>iridium.
>
>Using this irrational fear mongering with radionuclides or nuclear material,
>combined with ultra-nationalistic ideas is deeply despicable. I hope I made
>myself clear Mr. Howard Long.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Franz
>
>Franz Schoenhofer, PhD
>MinRat i.R.
>Habicherg. 31/7
>A-1160 Wien/Vienna
>AUSTRIA
>
>
>-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
>Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im Auftrag
>von HOWARD.LONG at comcast.net
>Gesendet: Mittwoch, 29. Oktober 2008 17:19
>An: Peter Bossew; Radsafe Message
>Betreff: Re: [ RadSafe ] Benefit/Harm from U.S. Army in Afghanistan
>
>Radsafe pertinence of this topic is risk of radioactive attack on USA, -
>need for HP preparation..
>
>  I respond to Peter and Steven (and the U Tube sarcastic fiction) with
>gratitude that threatened attacks on USA have not occurred following so far
>successful (incomplete) Afghan Liberation and Iraqi Freedom - wars designed
>primarily to destroy alQaeda operations, but also hoping that democracy
>there will give freedom, trade, prosperity - disincentive to attack us.
>
>Not yet as feasible are the liberation (and destruction of USA or Europe
>attack sources) in China, Iran, Cuba and N Korea. Hopefully, commerce
>self-interest in China (now dependent on USA prosperity) will effectively
>dampen imposition of failed Marxism-Maoism.
>
>USA carbon fuels are as plentiful as in the Middle east, but politically
>restricted by fears that should go away (glaciers now enlarge).
>Big Oil (most monopolistic where government-owned) will have less influence
>with the 45 nuclear plants encouraged by the more free-market Presidential
>campaign.
>
>Howard Long

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