Sunday, June 20, 2004

New York, New York



Sorry I've been absent. I've been away in New York City at a management course at NYU. The course is over but I'm still here to enjoy the city before I head back home.

I've had a long-running love affair with NYC since my first visit at age 14, and for many reasons too numerous to list here. But the one thing I will mention is that at least here in NYC you don't get the sense that Americans are totally isolated from what goes on in the rest of the world. Sorry to offend any non-New Yorkers reading this, but I worry about people in the vast space beyond NYC and other big cities not getting all the news that they should. Sadly, it's a combination of news channels hungry for ratings and a total lack of interest from too many Americans.

But then I've always wondered about most populations outside urban areas anywhere in the world. I think the reason we pick on Americans for being under-informed is that, as the world's superpower, we hold them to a higher standard and we know they can do better

Discuss!!

2 comments:

  1. What a lovely site. I've been observing every now and then and it's beautiful. Glad to see that you come to the US. I myself live in Canada.

    As to the news, we get channels that are like "Jihad TV" in character and opinion, but we know where to get the real news: bloggers like you!

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  2. Hey Zaydoun, I'm a New Yorker and let me say that we are glad to have you and thanks for spreading around the dinars. By the way, sometimes the American Jihad channel is fun too watch and at least it provides a counterbalance for the Communist News Network which used to be the only choice. And by the way, even the American Jihad channel is really much more anti-French than anti-Muslim (ha ha). But I suppose you are right, NYers tend to be better informed. Don't forget of course that NY is also the most ethnically diverse place in the country {world?} - In my own company we have just about every type of race and religion in the world - this makes the water cooler conversations sometimes like the debates at the U(seless) N(ations).

    Actually I have even been to kuwait to visit a friend of mine who you probably know. My question is this: New York is much more free than Kuwait - you speak perfect english - you like it here - why not simply move to New York permanently? Even despite september 11th there is no outward expression of anti-arab sentiment here (except perhaps at the customs interview, but believe me that is no worse than the questioning Americans get on the way to K City when they ask you if you brought any Playboys or Whisky). I recommend you pick up and get a job here.

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Keep it clean, people!