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March 2009 
just the facts, not the rhetoric
Posted on Feb 24th, 2006
by 
Wil
Wil
Namaste all,
Why is it in any disputed discussion nobody can stick to facts. Now I realize the facts are often a little blurred and there exists an occasional gray area...but...
Typically whether it is countries, religions, labor disputes, political discussion everyone heads to their corner and starts firing pot shots of hyperbole. There exists a belief system that since we are going to compromise anyway, I might as well start out unreasonable, and then we may find something acceptable.
Does that really make any sense?
In the US right now there is turmoil over a company from the United Arab Emirates buying out a British company....
As John Q. Public we are watching the political forces head to their corners and start shooting....
~UAE supports terrorism and laundered money for 911
~UAE is a US partner fighting coutnerterrorism
~They are taking over security for 6 major US ports
~The President supports the exchange
~The President never knew about the deal
~The Congress will block the deal
~The UAE is getting a sweetheart deal and US will be at risk
~This is a good deal
~This is bad judgement
Makes it awful hard for us to determine anything, the more you read, the less you know. We do know that companies from foriegn countries have been managing work like this for years. (even companies from communist China) We know that they are not controlling security for 6 ports... In Baltimore for instance they are going to manage 2 piers out of 14 and Homeland Security and the Coast Guard are still responsible for security in the port.
Now to me the way you can make decisions is put pros in one column and the cons in another column, weigh each line item, consider your options based on facts and move forward.
Or you can go within, ask your higher self for potential options and solutions on matters.
But either way your comfort level with your decision increases if you start out with informatin that is close to correct and valuable to the process.
Again, I am positive that communication in our zaadz world will increase the knowledge and understanding on both sides of issues and reduce the needs for name calling and rhetoric.
If you have thoughts or facts regarding the above, shine your light for us.
Peace.
Why is it in any disputed discussion nobody can stick to facts. Now I realize the facts are often a little blurred and there exists an occasional gray area...but...
Typically whether it is countries, religions, labor disputes, political discussion everyone heads to their corner and starts firing pot shots of hyperbole. There exists a belief system that since we are going to compromise anyway, I might as well start out unreasonable, and then we may find something acceptable.
Does that really make any sense?
In the US right now there is turmoil over a company from the United Arab Emirates buying out a British company....
As John Q. Public we are watching the political forces head to their corners and start shooting....
~UAE supports terrorism and laundered money for 911
~UAE is a US partner fighting coutnerterrorism
~They are taking over security for 6 major US ports
~The President supports the exchange
~The President never knew about the deal
~The Congress will block the deal
~The UAE is getting a sweetheart deal and US will be at risk
~This is a good deal
~This is bad judgement
Makes it awful hard for us to determine anything, the more you read, the less you know. We do know that companies from foriegn countries have been managing work like this for years. (even companies from communist China) We know that they are not controlling security for 6 ports... In Baltimore for instance they are going to manage 2 piers out of 14 and Homeland Security and the Coast Guard are still responsible for security in the port.
Now to me the way you can make decisions is put pros in one column and the cons in another column, weigh each line item, consider your options based on facts and move forward.
Or you can go within, ask your higher self for potential options and solutions on matters.
But either way your comfort level with your decision increases if you start out with informatin that is close to correct and valuable to the process.
Again, I am positive that communication in our zaadz world will increase the knowledge and understanding on both sides of issues and reduce the needs for name calling and rhetoric.
If you have thoughts or facts regarding the above, shine your light for us.
Peace.
Access: Public
Namaste Wil,
You pose a very serious problem with the way people think about problems. I really can’t add more to what you’ve stated. It’s all true.
What I will add is what I feel is the crux of the “con” problem. That is (and I’m quoting from Dana Priest from the Washington Post during a chat yesterday):
Peaks Island, Maine: What exactly are the port vulnerabilities exacerbated by foreign ownership?
Dana Priest: the argument is that Dubai Ports World, the owner, would be able to relocate hundreds of employees to the United States to work on the port. Top managers sympathetic to Al Qaeda could force lower-level managers to allow in some AQ operatives who would be obtaining visas from the US with all the other, legitimate employees. Such “plants” would be nearly impossible to detect. Those people would then be able to establish lives here. And wait for the right moment. the mafia did the same thing to infilitrate the ports for smuggling purposes.
—–We’re really familiar with the whole mafia angle here in Philly!
I feel that if we were better at securing our own ports this would be less of an issue, but we have decided it would impede shipping and cost too much to do more along those lines. Even though we are in charge of our own security, we’re just not really doing a very good job of it at the ports.
Also, interestingly, a man named Mohammad Abu-Gaz Ah Lah is the Chairman and Ceo of Fresh Del Monte Produce. He is a Palestinaian from Amann Jordan, and has managed the company since 1996 on the Camden, NJ waterfront. His company also operates in some of the ports in question. Nobody really considers him a security risk.
However, I did see this at a local news site: “Del Monte produce may not be a security risk but Mohammed Abu Gazalh is only weeks away from defending himself in a Florida court, a $60M lawsuit that charges he bought the company at a below market price, thanks to bribes and payoffs.
“Mr. Abu Gazalh is expected to go to court on May 15th, but a former member of his board of directors, Marvin Bush, brother of President George W. Bush, will not be there because he was not named in the suit.”
Fodder for the fire, no doubt.
Hey Wil,
I totally agree. I want to read and spread truth. That’s why I’m going to Journalism school. The American public just hasn’t been getting good, true stories in a long time. Have you ever read “People’s History of the United States?” Hmm… now there’s some truth that never made the front pages. I wish I had that book in kindergarten when we were making handprint turkeys.
It is pretty much a given for me that the more I read/hear, the less I know.
So in order for a fact to exist, the elements must be Real (agree ?). Like ‘president’, ‘uae’, and ‘congress’. These are all fictional elements that we participate in as US citizens. Shared meanings but not Truth. (My humorous attempt to evade the situation and continue to sleep at night.) Realistically, I think dialogue is the answer! Here is one site which is a very valuable resource among many. (I have more.)
Hey LJubilaei,
Have you read “Lies My Teacher Told Me” or “Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World” ? Two more great books that tell history from a view different than the standard school text!
I agree with Kari.
“…in order for a fact to exist, the elements must be Real (agree ?). Like ‘president’, ‘uae’, and ‘congress’. These are all fictional elements that we participate in as US citizens. Shared meanings but not Truth.”
The only difference being, that this is my serious attempt to look AWAY from the illusion of “facts” (as they are spewed at us by our culture, the media, etc. etc. etc. ) and given to us as “reality”. Having said this, I agree with Kari that dialogue is ONE of the answers, (verses debate, which has the huge potential of getting us stuck for all of eternity in unproductive mind chatter and DISTRACTION). Which is why I lean toward the option that you proposed, Wil. (“Or you can go within, ask your higher self for potential options and solutions on matters.)
Thanks, Kari, for the site that you mentioned. It’s excellent.
After reading the comments I can see that my own trusting attitude needs a little tweaking. There are issues here beyond the simple one of competence. Contracts with the UAE owned company do possibly open a hole in a pretty flimsy net. And the Del Monte produce story opens another line of possibilities. Until recently I was not aware of the huge influence of foreign criminal organizations. They have grown out of the conditions of war poverty and mulit-national corporate funds being present in certain countries. America has a large responsibility for ongoing economic destabilization as that was our policy toward many countries throughout the cold war and post cold war period. The question now is how do take responsibility and begin to turn things around. And how to get the facts that have been or are being obscured or hidden. The go within option has to be part of any strategy. My inner response seems to be accurate in every situation that I’ve applied it to and I always regret it if I don’t at least check in. I keep coming back to the idea of being a true Adult. This seems to be state that more of us are approaching. True Adults are conscious. My higher self tells me more and more of us are approaching that state, must be why this conversation. I will savour the moment when this sort of conversation really is global.
Wil: “Why is it in any disputed discussion nobody can stick to facts.”
Me: Amen Wil. Amen brother. Your quandary is felt. Those posing as leaders should set the example.
And I, too, agree with Kari.
I love it that everyone can have a part in this. Going within, learning about and faaciitating dialogue on various levels, and making an honest effort at reporting the facts. I appreciate this conversation we are having. On one of my blog entires, Bo mentioned running things by the chakras, which I hadn’t thought of before for some reason. (Thanks zaadz, and Bo, and everyone.) I have a tendency to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and therefore don’t listen to the media much. I know I need to be braver and more willing to take action. It starts within for me, which is where I’m at! Peace.
The middle truth.
There is your truth, mine, theirs and THE Truth.
All other truths then the TRUTH are blurry because their mixed with intentions and emotions, when emotions are balanced and the intentions are pure there can be ONLY ONE TRUTH. The truth. (of course in my humble opinion)
truthfully yours,
L
LLL
L
Hey Wil, interesting line here. One thing my sister, a tough-as-nails street cop we lost to cancer three years ago, always used to say, “if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, it most likely is one” is often true. Not always, but often. If a deal smells fishy then it smells fishy. That may only mean that lunch was sardine sandwiches or it may mean the deal is fishy. As this pertains to Dubya and the UAE, well who knows what goes on behind closed doors. Not me.
Ahh politics, the wiggling of egos in time.
Love to zaadies one and all
CalmEagle