Burma's Cyclone Tragedy: A Government Without Oil

"Burmese government did not have the capacity to run the relief effort required, adding that the impact of Cyclone Nargis could be worse than the effect of the Asian tsunami on Sri Lanka and Indonesia." Quotes from BBCNews

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7393270.stm

TinyURL.com/6gohbu
(see Military.com news story following Blog comments:
"US Pilots Get Hero's Welcome in Myanmar")

Where's the oil?

Would the world just stand by and watch the pitifully poor Burmese people starving, while the bodies of their family members and neighbors rot in the tropical sun, if their isolated country was oil rich*? (Read note from Marc Pembroke below.)

I truly don't mean to make a political statement out of the horrible plight of the Burmese people during this time of mass disease and human suffering, caused by an inept government. Nevertheless, watching these poor people, their desperate images, without being able to help them, raises ethical questions in my mind. How can we let this happen? Let's override those stupid and evil general's who claim to be the Burmese leaders. Why not invade Burma, and take the heinous government out, like we did in Iraq?

Of course, the obvious answer is that a hostile reaction might make a horrible situation even worse for the Burmese. But, I recall the US invasion of Iraq did the same thing. We took out the dictator Saddam Hussein and let Al-Quida terrorists come into the country's side door.

I'm sympathetic beyond words for the plight of the beautiful Burmese people, who deserve much better than what they're getting from their useless government.

Moreover, the powerlessness of the US, along with Burma's neighboring countries and the United Nations, who want to help, are compounding the frustrations. We are watching an entire generation of people die for lack of decisive action.

Maybe, we can dump barrels oil out of the stomachs of airplanes, along with rice and food, in an effort to bring value to the urgency of the powerless Burmese people.

I pray for the poor and fragile Burmese people. It appears the help they urgently need won't arrive in time to save them from the evil people they are subject to.


Comment on May 10, 2008: from Don Levesque of Madawaska, Maine and the St. John Valley: What a sad world this is becoming.

Those poor victims in Burma.

Poor people are always the victims of tragedies and war.

You know, a lot of people still feel pretty much the same way about Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (I think it was called) which left people on our Gulf Coast struggling to survive unimaginable horrors while the corpses of their families, friends and neighbors were left bloating in the sun while an inept government did almost nothing right for way too long. Even today, various government agencies still haven't got it completely right there.

I guess nobody's immune from inept governments.

And, speaking of unimaginable ... hungry poor people around the world are rioting because they can no longer afford rice or cereals. I have trouble getting my mind around this. It is beyond science fiction.

It's very hard to be hopeful and optimistic when power seems to trump compassion almost everywhere.

Thank you for listening, doctor.

don

Comment from Marc Pembroke of Jackman ME dated May 11, 2008

"One might wonder whether the same outcome would occur if Myanmar were an oil-rich nation. However, I am not sure how much of a difference it would make. In fact, Myanmar was one of the oldest oil-producing countries. Its first exports date back to 1853. In 2004, it signed agreements with 9 foreign oil companies for exploration. It produces about the equivalent of 170,000 barrels of oil and natural gas a day (when its systems are operational, of course). That is small compared with Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, but oil companies are interested in the country. My guess is that any offshore rigs would probably have been destroyed, and the infrastructure within the country is probably in no shape for now. In this case, I don't think oil is a sufficient factor to explain the problem.

Let's continue to pray for a resolution to this crisis.

Best wishes,

Marc Pembroke"

US Pilots Get Hero's Welcome in Myanmar: News Article from the Military.com
May 13, 2008
Associated Press
TinyURL.com/6gohbu

UTAPAO AIR BASE, Thailand - Flying into Yangon, U.S. Marine Cpl. Bryan Hampson looked out the windows of his C-130 cargo plane at an expanse of marshland covered with a thick, brown blanket of water.

As the plane broke through the clouds, the crew member didn't know what to expect. His flight Tuesday was only the second one that Myanmar's ruling military junta - often hostile and suspicious of outside interference - had allowed the U.S. military to fly into the cyclone-devastated country.

What awaited was virtually a hero's welcome.

"They kept telling us thank you and shaking our hands," he said of the 40 Myanmar people who unloaded by hand the 19,900 pounds (9,025 kilograms) of emergency supplies on board. "They were really friendly toward us. They were excited to see us."

After strong appeals from Washington, Myanmar allowed the second and third U.S. military flights in on Tuesday and appeared to be willing to accept more, said Marine Lt. Col. Douglas Powell.

Powell said the first flight Tuesday carried blankets, water and mosquito nets. The second took in a 24,750-pound (11,225-kilogram) load. The two flights come after Myanmar allowed an Air Force C-130 cargo plane into Yangon, its main city, on Monday.

"They were very polite, very professional," Capt. Mark Hamilton, the pilot of Tuesday's first flight, said of the Myanmar officials who met the plane. He said a Myanmar air force officer even came aboard the plane and took snapshots of the cockpit.

"But the military mostly stood off to the side," he said.

Hamilton, of Becker, Minnesota, said the Yangon airport was in good condition, although rain fell as the plane was unloaded.

"They could fit quite a few large planes in there," he said. "The only issue is the offload."

Powell said a Boeing 747 aircraft arrived at Utapao Air Base in Thailand on Monday night to replenish the supplies available to fly in to Myanmar. Though the flights are military, the aid aboard them is being provided by civilian relief authorities.

The U.S. has pushed hard for the ruling military junta in Myanmar to let U.S. troops play a big role in relief operations in the aftermath of the cyclone, which has killed tens of thousands and severely affected an estimated 2 million people.

The U.S. military, which has already brought forces to the region for its annual Cobra Gold exercise, has 11,000 troops, at least four ships and potentially dozens of cargo planes nearby that are ready to start assistance operations.

Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Forces, flew into Myanmar on the initial aid flight Monday to try to persuade the junta to relent.

Keating said the U.S. military could provide 200,000 pounds (90,720 kilograms) of supplies a day, which would be a massive boost to the lagging relief efforts. The military could also ferry aid workers to the hardest-hit regions, which remain hard to reach.

But Myanmar state television said navy commander in chief Rear Adm. Soe Thein told Keating that basic needs of the storm victims are being fulfilled and that "skillful humanitarian workers are not necessary."

The operation, named Joint Task Force Caring Relief, will not go ahead without the approval of Myanmar's military rulers, who have so far refused a broad range of help offers because they fear foreign meddling in their domestic affairs.

That stance - as bodies remain scattered around the countryside and hundreds of thousands of refugees are in need of food and shelter - has generated howls of criticism from around the world.

"I wish their government would accept our aid more than they have already," said Hampson, of Bedford, Pennsylvania. "We'll come in and give them the aid they need to help their people, then we'll leave."TinyURL.com/6gohbu

French Legion of Honor Presented to Maine Franco-American Severin Beliveau

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=184594&ac=PHnws

France to honor Beliveau on May 13

By JULIANA L'HEUREUX May 1, 2008

A tour of Severin Beliveau's legal office in Augusta is a Franco-American's historic treat. His family's Franco-American history is easily viewed among the pictures and framed archived documents hanging close to his professional work, handsomely decorating the bright walls of his busy legal office.

A photograph of his Franco-American father, Judge Albert Beliveau, born in 1887, is particularly interesting. "These photographs remind me of my ancestral roots as a French speaking Franco-American," he said during the tour. "My father taught me to believe that you can never deny your roots and your heritage."

On March 2, 1992, Beliveau was appointed the honorary French consular agent for Maine. His support for Franco-American and French heritage in Maine and New England will be honored by France, with the presentation of the premier order of The Legion of Honor (Legion d'Honneur), at ceremonies scheduled at the State House on May 13 in Augusta.

"I feel very humble about receiving this honor," said Beliveau. "It's actually a tribute to my French heritage, going back to 1636 when my family arrived in Acadia. In 1671, my Acadian ancestor Jean-Antoine Beliveau married Jeanne Bourg in Port Royal," he said.

Actually, the Beliveau name has French-Acadian origins, before the family became Quebecois, as a result of le Grand Derangement (the displacement).

In the middle 1600s, his ancestors sailed from Poitou in France, to Port Royal in Acadia (Nova Scotia). Beliveau's Acadian ancestral family was displaced by le Grand Derangement during the conflagrations of 1755, when they evaded the British expulsion of Acadians and fled to the Province of Quebec. In 1772, genealogy records show that Joseph Beliveau married Rosalie Richard in Quebec. The family later moved to Nicolet, then to St. Gregoire.

In the late 1800s, the family came to Lewiston, like so many other Quebecois, where the attraction of finding work among the growing textile mills provided economic security. They later moved to Rumford, where Beliveau was born.

Beliveau's legal career followed in the prestigious footsteps of other lawyers and judges in his family. In 1935, his father, Albert J. Beliveau Sr., was appointed the first Franco-American to Maine's Superior Court. In 1954, he was the first Franco-American appointed to Maine's Supreme Judicial Court. "It was when discrimination against French-Canadians and Franco-Americans was very high. My father was their advocate," he recalls.

Beliveau's Irish grandfather, Matthew McCarthy, was the first municipal court judge in Rumford.

Consul General of France in Boston, Franois Gauthier recognizes Beliveau's lifetime of support for the French language and culture in Maine.

"The Legion of Honor is pleased to recognize Severin Bliveau as a tremendous representative of our country's French heritage in North America," he said.

"He is a successful lawyer and businessman who is the head of the 'Forum Francophone des Affaires' in Maine. Severin is a decisive leader in some key projects for improving the relationship between the Pine Tree State and France, such as the governor's successful trade mission to France in October 2005. He is a proud member of the Franco-American community in Maine and New England. His family ties to France are very meaningful to him. We are grateful that he has put his talents to the service of Franco-Americans and France."

The Legion of Honor was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte to recognize and pay tribute to people who demonstrate outstanding military and civilian service to the people of France.

Beliveau and his wife Cynthia and four sons live in Hallowell.

Juliana L'Heureux can be contacted at:

Juliana@MaineWriter.com

A World Without Rice

Living in the Philippines for three years, I know how vitally important rice is for a huge chunk of the world's population. To think of a world rice shortage, or the horrible potential for no rice, is clearly unthinkable. Such an event will be more catastrophic than melting ice in Antarctica.

Now, the ominous specter of rice shortages is showing up in supermarkets around the world, because the earth’s population is growing and the cost of growing rice is becoming more expensive, due to rising energy costs.

There's absolutely no substitute for rice. Rice is one of the few foods in the world which is entirely non-allergenic and gluten-free. Rice is consumed by nearly one-half the entire world population and many countries, like Asia, are completely dependent on rice as a staple food. Rice is naturally free of fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is a complex carbohydrate containing only 103 calories per one-half-cup serving.

Culturally speaking, rice is more important than protein in Asian cuisines, particularly in poor countries like the Philippines. Filipinos eat rice with their hands and mix it with almost everything. They fry, steam and boil it. They stuff it in their Lapu-lapu (feasting fish). Filipino fried rice is mixed with eggs.

Japanese are persnickety about their rice, preferring the short grain to the long grain. Japanese also like their rice cooked until “sticky”, so it’s easier to control on chop sticks.

I learned to cook rice from Norma and Ester, my lovely Filipina maids. They taught me the one knuckle technique. It works, regardless of how little or much rice is being cooked.

First, rinse the rice until the water runs clear, usually about three times.

Put the amount of rice you want to cook, anywhere from one-half cup to one gallon or more, into a pot, adding clear water until the rice is covered.

You measure the water to rice ratio by putting your index finger into the water, inserting it to touch the top layer of the rice. When the water is as deep as the first knuckle of your index finger, then you have the correct ratio for perfectly cooked rice.

Bring the rice pot to a boil and then immediately turn off the heat. The rice is left to steam until all the water is absorbed. It's the one knuckle approach to perfect rice every time.

Rice is sold by the kilo in Asian markets and displayed in outdoor grocery stalls as raw mountains of white. Unlike the sterile bags of rice we’re accustomed to seeing, Asian rice is displayed like it’s sitting in a silo. It's not sold in bags because, frankly, many Filipinos cannot afford to buy rice in great quantities. They sometimes buy it by the cup.

Rice is a staple of Philippine entertaining. You begin cooking rice and everything else is secondary.

I recall one time, when rice was all we were offered to eat.

As a church group, we were invited into the jungle to visit a Christian missionary village on Luzon Island. Treating us like we were dignitaries, the native people cooked about 50 pounds of rice for our feast. Thankfully, we were foresighted enough to bring boxed lunches, because , we quickly realized that the mountain of cooked rice attracted every black fly in the jungle. A child was assigned to brush the flies away with a banana leaf strung on a pole, which was swished back and forth, like a primitive ceiling fan. The child's efforts were for naught, because as soon as the banana leaf swept the flies away from one side of the rice, the swarms quickly resettled themselves on the other side. The banana leaf was merely for show, because the Filipino natives didn't want to offend us by serving fly infested rice. Nevertheless, we didn't eat the rice, regardless of the banana leaf guardian's futile attempts to dispel the flies. On the other hand, the natives couldn't wait to feast on such a huge quantity of rice. Frankly, they were thankful we turned it down leaving plenty of leftovers for them and their children to eat, after we left.

When Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese in 1977, I witnessed thousands of the refugees with their bags of rice, all they owned, tied in satchels to their bodies, as they arrived, traumatized, in Subic Bay, in the Philippines.

I’m positively distraught when I think about a world rice shortage. There’s no need for this to happen. People were growing rice for thousands of years before this civilization somehow created a shortage. Virtually every continent, except Antarctica, grows rice. There should be more than enough rice available to give some away to every man, woman and child in the world. But, instead, we’re told there is likely a rice shortage looming. What kind of mismanagement of resources brought this on?

This potential rice shortage is not the result of an incurable virus or world drought.

Unlike diseases and natural disasters, we can actually control rice production. It’s essential for us to do so, because rice is oftentimes the only source of nutrition for millions of desperately poor people.

A world without rice will mean a future too bleak to foretell.

Therefore, I chose to focus on the joy rice brings to the tables of millions of people in the world. I think about delicious Filipine fried rice. Likewise, I contemplate those beautifully delicate Japanese rice bowls, presenting cooked rice like it’s a crowned jewel on the dinner table.

I think about how little rice it takes to make millions of people feel valued and fed.

Thinking about a world rice shortage brings negative thoughts and questions about the rest of the story. The possibility of intentionality, of creating famine for millions of innocent people because of common industrial greed, is too horrible to comprehend.

If I could only do it, I truly wish there was a way for me to bring 50 pounds of rice to Norma and Ester, right now.

Blog Post Responses: from Don Levesque in Madawaska Maine:

Bonsoir, Juliana,

I think it is shameful and sinful that we are beginning to burn food for
fuel in the "civilized" countries.

Oh, I understand the need to stop relying on fossil fuels but burning food
for what, in the grand scheme of things, can seem fairly trivial, is almost
beyond comprehension. Poor people around the world are rioting because they
are starving. In 2008.

And here we sit, well fed, contemplating burning food so we can go to the
mall in our SUV.

Thanks for the touching and warm reminder, Juliana.

don

Dateline Baltimore: Living "Hairspray"

Actor John Travolta gets critical kudos for his trans-gender feminine role as Edna, in the musical turned hit-movie "Hairspray", but, the actual story is a non-fiction flashback for those of us who lived the plot.

People typically look aghast when I tell them how "Hairspray" and its segregationist theme, is a true story. "It's hard to imagine," I hear people say, time and again.

"Hairpsray" is a musical based upon a 1981 cult movie by the Baltimore film producer John Waters. It's about a group of '60s kids from East Baltimore who defy the segregationist cultural norms of their parent's generation by insisting on merging with Negro kids of their age. Moreover, Tracy Turnblad, the slightly plump teen main character of the show, wants to bring the Negroes and Caucasian kids together, to dance on a very popular afternoon Buddy Deane television show, something like American Band Stand.

This cultural change, i.e., merging the races, came about, not just because Tracy was a perky idealistic kid who believed in racial integration. Actually, the landmark Supreme Court Case, "Brown versus the Baltimore Board of Education" made the Baltimore City and County public school systems among the first in the nation to mandate racial integration - a landmark case.

In other words, I never attended a racially segregated school.

On the other hand, socialization between Negro and Caucasian kids was more difficult because neighborhoods were segregated as were other social institutions - like dances.

First of all, here are the facts:

1. There really was an after school dance show in Baltimore called the "Buddy Deane Show". Only the popular kids became regulars. Teens were selected based on their ability to look beautiful on television and because they could dance. In fact, several dances, invented by Baltimore teenagers, later became national fads - they started on The Buddy Dean Show.

2. There really was "Negro Day" on The Buddy Deane Show. In other words, selected days when only Negroes danced. There was no mixing of the races on a dance floor in the early 1960s. Just like in "Hairpsray", Negro Day was widely watched by Caucasian kids in the safety of their home televisions, because, frankly, Negroes really knew how to create dance. Later, Caucasian kids re-invented the Negroes' moves and created specially named dances that became the newest crazes.

3. There really was a culture of trans-gender homosexual men in Baltimore - although, they were a far cry from looking like John Travolta. The men were, actually, very beautiful women. I worked with many trans-gender men in Baltimore's hospitals where they didn't seem to have any problems finding jobs as male orderlies. They were almost always white (Caucasian) men. They came to work in their white male orderlies' uniforms, while wearing their female make-up.

Edna Turnblad's role was created by producer Walters for "Divine" a well known Baltimore trans-gender personality, who acted the part of Tracy's mother in the original cult movie. This role remained a trans-gender, male playing a female, out of respect for Divine, the first "Edna". Honestly, (also, hard to believe) as a naïve Baltimore teenager, I grew up believing all homosexuals were "trans-gender" men, because I saw them so frequently.

4. Tracy's Alma mater, Patterson Park High School, still exists and my cousins graduated from there. Tracy wins a scholarship to Essex Community College, which also exists. Taking the bus to North Avenue is another truism in "Hairspray". Indeed, East Baltimore kids never took the public bus to North Avenue, unless, it was to mingle with the Negroes.

Unfortunately, people who say "Hairspray's" plot is hard to believe don't see Baltimore through my rainbow colored glasses. Unfortunately, life in the 1960s was threaded with hope for a better future - even with the segregationist culture very evident. As I visit Baltimore today, the neighborhoods have not changed much for the better. Urban improvements in the Inner Harbor have not expanded to outlying areas of the city. Some attempt to preserve and improve on the past is succeeding. For example, Tracy Turnblad's back yard, today, is a trendy restoration district called Fell's Point. I'm hopeful East Baltimore will grow into becoming "Greater Fell's Point". Frankly, however, as I observe the neighborhoods while traveling down Broadway, toward the trendier area, even the graffiti on the cement sidewalks and brick walls doesn’t seem to fade.

Obviously, times have changed the racial social mores. People think of social segregation as an evil anachronism, something that should never have happened in the first place.

Thank goodness for John Waters, who brings out the best of youth and the worst of the segregationist era.

"Hairspray" will, hopefully, bring a reality check to those in Baltimore who like to pretend they live a better life today. I'd say, it is "we" who lived the better life, when our generation of Tracy Turnblad's made change happen, regardless of the consequences. Tracy even goes to jail for expressing her idealism and making change happen. Perhaps it was the turmoil caused by the inner city riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, but (in my opinion) Baltimore has not regained its inner self respect. For example,it does not take tax revenue to wash graffiti off of walls and cement sidewalks.

Those who are brave enough to ride Baltimore City's Number 10 bus today, look out on the same world as Tracy Turnblad. But, it's decidedly less safe a journey then when she took the same bus, with a transfer ticket, to go to North Avenue.

I'm told Divine still walks the streets of East Baltimore - but nothing much has improved. What's missing - what the decades eroded - is the hope for a beautiful tomorrow. Maybe the kudos Travolta will receive, even an academy award nomination for his role as Edna, will wake up Baltimore. Like the opening song, "Good Morning Baltimore", the attention brought to East Baltimore through the hit musical "Hairspray" may be the city's best chance at raising itself back to craving Tracy's idealism.

For me, it's not hard to believe segregation happened. Instead, it's hard to believe so little about East Baltimore has improved since those "Hairpsray" days. Segregation was, actually, less of a problem than the drug dealing and guns seen in the same streets today. Baltimore's segregation is gone, but so is the city's urban idealism.

Obviously, film maker Waters loves East Baltimore as much as I do - I remember when East Baltimore was a real neighborhood. You have to love and identify a problem before it can be solved. "Hairspray" puts a fresh coiffure on an old city's norms. Through music and humor, the show raises the potential for the future by using the power of love - and, "Without Love", is the show's closing song.

For people who wax nostalgic for the "Hairspray" days, let's hope the love we see in Water's hit show is contagious.

George Bush Sells Arms to Saudi Arabia - Can He Please Tell Us Why?

In the height of fighting terrorists, we are now selling arms to Saudi Arabia. Isn't that like turning the hen house over to the fox? Surely, this deal is a cover for some other intent - like finding Osama Bin Laden.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, freedom of religion does not exist. In fact, to be a Christian means risking death. Women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are oppressed. They cover their bodies and wear burkas, even in the blazing heat. Discrimination against women includes turning a blind eye to rape and domestic violence. This is the same Arab Kingdom that supplied 14 of the September 11, 2001 hijackers who attacked our country. Indeed, of the 19 terrorists who were on the four airplanes on September 11, 2001, and attacked our World Trade Center's twin towers in New York City, and the United States Pentagon building in Washington DC and also intended to hit another target but crashed, instead, in a Pennsylvania field - 14 of these evil doer human beings were Saudi Arabian men. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sent 14 of their terrorists to this country to attack us; and there could be more of them waiting for another opportunity.

So, please, Mr. President George Bush, explain to the American People why a country, where hatred and oppression is evident against Americans, Christians and women, is being courted by your administration?

It is widely reported on many national news networks that we are going to sell military equipment to Saudi Arabia. But, we don't hear "why"?

Mr. President, you give a weekly radio address to the nation, but you don't tell us "why" you do anything. This time, you need to say "why" our country needs to support a terrorist nation - especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where 14 of its citizen terrorists attacked our country.

Maybe, you're actually paying a ransom to the Saudi government, so they'll direct us to find the leader Osama Bin Laden? Is this why you're selling them expensive military stuff? I mean, really, you must live in a cave in Pakistan not to realize the Saudi Arabian government knows where their lead terrorist Bin Laden is located. Clearly, somebody is sending Osama Bin Laden money to fund his evil Al-Qaeda network. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this terror money must be coming from Saudi Arabia, because that's where the money is - and Bin Laden's family lives there. So, if we sell arms to Saudi Arabia, will they, in turn, tell us how to find Osama Bin Laden? By the way, will the same people who tell us how to find Bin Laden also go and tell him how to escape from our grasp before we get to him?

If you're paying Saudi Arabia ransom money to find Osama Bin Laden, then it would be very helpful to get him while he's alive so the entire evil network of his followers can see him cower as a mortal and chained prisoner. Don't blow it, like you did with Saddam Hussein - creating a martyr at the 11th hour. Do it right this time.

Otherwise, if you can't produce any reason for this arms deal with the oppressive Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, then please sell them something else, so they can spend their oil money wisely. Rather than military arms they can use to kill people, sell them the democracy you intended to bring to Iraq.

President George Bush, how can selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia make us a safer nation and the world a peaceful planet? These Saudi people support and coddle terrorists. It's a fact. These are the same people who attacked us on September 11th.

Shame on you. And you cannot even explain "why".


PREDICTION FULFILLED- August 1, 2007: Value Added Comment from the BBC News website http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6925583.stm

Saudis back US plans in Mid-East
Prince Saud gave a joint news conference with Ms Rice
Saudi Arabia has pledged to explore the possibility of starting diplomatic relations with the Shia-led government in Iraq, a move long sought by the US.
The Saudi foreign minister told the visiting US secretaries of state and defence he would send an envoy to Iraq.

Condoleezza Rice called it an important step and thanked Prince Saud al-Faisal.

Prince Saud also said Riyadh supported and would attend a Middle East peace conference proposed by President George W Bush later this year.

Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic ties with Israel and correspondents say the conservative kingdom's presence at a peace conference alongside Israel would be a major diplomatic breakthrough.

"We welcome this initiative," Prince Saud al-Faisal said at a news conference with Ms Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

"There is an international movement... Israel should respond to these pressures," the prince said.

Before the tour began, the US offered a $20bn (£9.9bn) arms package to Arab Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, which is the world's biggest oil-producer.

The weapons deal has proved controversial in the US and two Democratic congressmen have already said they will introduce legislation to block it.

Criticism- Prince Saud said he was "astounded" by recent remarks by US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, in which he accused Saudi Arabia of undermining efforts to stabilise war-ravaged Iraq.

"My explanation is that he must have been influenced by the atmosphere at the UN when he went to New York" [after serving as US envoy in Baghdad], he said.

Saudi Arabia has not had an embassy in Baghdad since the first Gulf War in 1990, despite pressure from the US after its forces led the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia's has criticised the post-Saddam system in Baghdad for reducing Sunni Arab influence and increasing that of regional rival Iran.

Later on Wednesday, Ms Rice heads to Jerusalem for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

She will also travel to the West Bank, to meet Palestinian Authority president and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.

It is Ms Rice's first visit since the Hamas movement defeated Fatah to seize control of the Gaza Strip in June.

Hamas denies Israel's right to exist, and its victory in Gaza deals a serious blow to Mr Bush's strategic vision of a two-state, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace.

Media Pronunciation Alert - Get Those Maine Names Right!

Kennebunkport Maine is a gorgeous place, especially when glamorous newscasters stand in front of a pristine Atlantic Ocean coastal scene to tell the entire world about the state of our planet. "Reporting live from Kenn-a-bunkport....". Ughhhh, please get it right!

Cute sounding media newscasters or commentators must think they sound freshly "local" or suave when reporting from beautiful Maine places. Have you noticed how they universally try to re-educate those who live here about how to pronounce the names of the places they're reporting on? It's like, we don't know how to talk, but they do.

Frankly, I'm plain weary of hearing Kennebunkport, Maine reported as someplace I've never been to, because, the correct pronunciation of this tiny coastal town is nearly always incorrectly slurred by newscasters. It's "Ken-kneee-bunk-port"! Please do not say "Kenn-a-bunk-port", as though you media people know more than those who live here. These mis-pronunciations are starkly irritating to those who live in Maine, particularly in Southern Maine (a sort of separate place, like the 51st state in the Union). Likewise, with the name of Bangor - a city in the "real Maine". Its name is "Ban-gore". Please don't try as, what you think, is native joal by mis-pronouncing the name as "Ban-ger". Mis-pronouncing Bangor, known as Maine's Queen City, sounds like a hillbilly sipping tea at high noon with a little pinky finger up - just ridiculous.

NBC's Lisa Myers is most guilty of slurring Kennebunkport's four syllable name. Also, Scott Simon on National Public Radio needs correcting, too.

According to the posting at the Kennebunkport Historical Society webpage, the local history is thus:

"Though the exact date of the earliest settlement in the area now known as Kennebunkport is uncertain, historical evidence indicates that it cannot have been much later than that of the founding of the Plymouth Colony. It is known that for many years prior to the first permanent habitation, the islands along the Cape Porpoise shore were used for fish drying and as a summer headquarters by those who came to tap the rich resources of the coastal fishing banks. In 1653, the town was first incorporated as Cape "Porpus" and became subject to the government of Massachusetts. Entirely depopulated by Indian depredations in 1689, the town was resettled early in the 1700's and renamed Arundel by permission of the Massachusetts General Court in 1719. This designation remained until 1821, when, having become a bustling port of entry for foreign trade, with a custom house, the town was given its present name of Kennebunkport."

(You gotta love the use of the word "depredations" meaning, destructive operations; ravages. Sadly, these depredations were "massacres". Colonial French and Indian Wars of the 17th and 18th centuries were serial massacres on all three incendiary sides of the triangular - British, French and First Nations - power equation.)

Alright, maybe mispronouncing towns' names isn't quite as bad as using words that don't really say what they mean.

Anyway, for media types who take time to read what's written about "them", I say this, "Hey, listen up!".

Don't say "Kenn-a-bunkport" when it's really "Kennebunkport" and don't say "Banger" when it's "Bangor".

Maybe, you can even teach the Russian news media who cover President Vladimir Putin, to get it right, as well.

Okay? Otherwise, enjoy your stay in beautiful Maine during July, our most gloriously beautiful month of the year. By the way, we'll be glad when you take the crowds and traffic jams, caused by your stay, back home with you.

Iraq in Honolulu: Paradise Short Lived

A vacation in Honolulu, in the beautiful state of Hawaii, is intended to transport stressed people into a snippet of tropical paradise. Hawaii's gentle breezes and emerald colored oceans invite respite and renewal. Consequently, I was surprise by how much I quickly learned about the American War in Iraq, while in Hawaii.

My husband Richard and I took advantage of an early spring get-away opportunity, using the last of our Delta Airlines frequent flyer miles, to luckily escape the worst stormy weather Maine has seen in over a decade.

We booked a trip to visit San Francisco and then Honolulu.

This trip was our third visit to the Aloha state. Our first Hawaiian family vacation was taken when returning home after living 3 years in the Philippines on Luzon Island. At that time, in the late 1970's, Honolulu was like a decompression chamber, allowing us to orient ourselves to living in the United States again. On our 1st trip, we stayed at the newly opened, 5 star military resort, at Fort DeRussey, called the Hale Koa Hotel, on Waikiki Beach.

As military installations go, the Hale Koa is a nirvana experience where rank, rate, regimental structure and uniforms are cast aside. Everyone is equally invited to enjoy a first class vacation at the Hale Koa; a benefit offered to military personnel both active duty and retired. No tax dollars are used to support the Hale Koa because the buildings and tropical gardens are landscaped on federal land at Fort DeRussy, a piece of real estate the investment developers passed on when Waikiki
Beach became a tourist Mecca.

We returned to the Hale Koa on our 3rd recent vacation because we fit the prototype as a retired military family.

Oftentimes, it's difficult to return to past experiences and regain the same ambiance as with the first charmed encounter. This was not at all the case with our Hale Koa vacation. We were even more charmed this second time around because the Hale Koa expanded in size, beauty and scope of services.

Nevertheless, my delusion of visiting a paradise was abruptly checked when I met a young man in the elevator who was only 18 hours in time removed from Baghdad in Iraq. It was a quiet 5 AM encounter. The young solider, dressed in t-shirt and shorts, serendipitously joined me in a "jet-lag" jaunt to get a cup of Hawaii's famous Kona coffee, going out while most hotel residents, including my husband, were still sound asleep.

"Where are you from?," I asked him. He said, "I just came from Baghdad!"

He and his wife met up at the Hale Koa for a 2 week "R&R" vacation. His war time vacation is a repeat of the thousands of liaisons of the Korean and Viet Nam wars whereby the military flies active duty personnel directly from the battle fields to Hawaii for specific reunion purposes. It's a fabulous morale booster and one of the principal reasons why the Hale Koa maintains a supremely romantic get-away reputation.

Actually, the young solider on the elevator turned out to be one of dozens of other Iraq military personnel we subsequently met while at the Hale Koa. In fact, at the ritual Luau performance, one young solider proposed marriage to his fiancé on an outdoor stage with about 700 people in the audience applauding while wiping tears from our eyes.

I never felt closer to the American War in Iraq then while vacationing at the Hale Koa. We made it our responsibility to support and love these families during their liaisons. Moreover, the specter of their personal anguish at fighting in war was evident during every second of their time spent quietly walking around the grounds with loved ones. Like watching the same movie over and over with different characters, each family's brief 2 weeks in paradise played out like it could be their last chance at happiness. Their short time together was, truly, more precious than
gold.

Unfortunately, the young man in the elevator told me he didn't trust the way the American media was covering the war effort in Baghdad. He said, "I don't think the media likes us".

Not so, I responded. "We pray for you in Baghdad. Everyone is praying for you. In fact, the media is looking out for your well fare," I said. "The Portland Newspapers, in Portland Maine, even has a journalist in Baghdad. He's Bill Nemitz," I told him. In fact, Bill takes time to report on troop welfare, I told him.

I don't suspect he believed me.

Anyway, by that time, we both had our Kona coffees in hand and were walking back into the tropical night breezes to our respective rooms.

When we left Honolulu, we saw another young soldier tearfully saying good-bye to his wife and child at the airport. It was the bittersweet, yet inevitable, outcome of a 2 week R&R in paradise.

A flight attendant, on our return flight from Honolulu to Atlanta, George, asked passengers to pay tribute to the number of Iraq personnel who were on the plane. They were obviously melancholy having just left their loved ones after 2 weeks at the Hale Koa. Everyone applauded, but we obviously didn't lift their sadness.

Our second visit to the Hale Koa was two generations removed from our first one, but there were wistful similarities. No doubt, other people looked at us back in the 1970's, as though we were a Viet Name liaison (although we just happened to be in transit). Our movie played out in two generational theaters.

Back in Maine, we found our house had electric power on after being off for three days due to the spring Nor'easter. Our reality was, of course, far removed from those hotel guests from Iraq, whose "real-world" re-entry includes the dangers of facing war on a daily basis or living at home without loved ones. Certainly, we will pray for those soldiers in Iraq and their families.

Unexpectedly, we found Iraq in paradise and I'm affected by the experience.

For good or ill, whether we agree with this Iraq war or oppose it altogether, we are all in it together, paradise notwithstanding.