George W.'s Behavior Discourages Arab Muckraking

Inspired by Revolutionary War hero Thomas Pain and CNN's Christiane Amanpour, a young man from Yemen wants to be a journalist. But according to this op-ed article from the Yemen Times, his parents are against it, since, 'even Uncle Sam has made a point of using every weapon at his disposal to take down journalists that disapprove of his actions.'

By Hassan Al-Haifi  


November 24-27, 2005 Issue

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"Son, wouldn't you be better off as a tax man or customs agent, or even a military officer?" said Ahmed's mother, as she beat the fenugreek on the small ball, taking a little of the slowly rising batter to the tip of her tongue to see if the bitterness had been removed.

[Editor's Note: Fenugreek is a kind of grain that is a staple of the Yemeni diet. TheFenugreek is ground mixed with a local spice called "oudi al-hilbah," other herbs are added and the batter is mixed with gravy, ground meat vegetables and eggs. In the Levant, particularly Syria, Fenugreek is also used to make a coffee-like hot drink or "qahwah].

Ahmed was displeased with his mother's suggestion: "Mom, what you said is as bitter as that fenugreek mix before you add your magic touch to it. How can you suggest that I take up an occupation that invites corruption and the misuse authority, when I have told you that my goal in life is to fight all forms of corruption and abuses of power?"

Look Ahmed, your mother has a point: journalism is no longer the "in thing." Didn't you hear that now, even Uncle Sam has made a point of using every weapon at his disposal to take down journalists that disapprove of his actions. Did you know that George W. Bush had a plan to bomb the Al-Jazeera Satellite TV network - in of all places, Doha, Qatar? Wow! That's what I call hating someone to the marrow of your bones." Ahmed's father was pointing to the printout of an article he took from the Internet.

"If America feels like that about freedom of the press, what chance have you got in Yemen, where they will just follow you home and stab you, bleed your nose, kick you in the Ö" said Ahmed's elder brother as he walked in from school.

"Now son, watch your manners, please. You are a member of a respectable family, where such language is out of the question," the father said sternly.
Shkeeb had a response with a question mark in it?

"Dad, how would you feel if your friend just got attacked by one of the weird nightly ghosts that prowl the streets looking for anyone with a pen in his shirt pocket, assuming that he must be a journalist coming home from work. They have been taught that anyone coming home that late must be a journalist, sneaking his article in as he attacks the Government, Israel or the United States?"
The aspiring journalist remained unshaken by all this.

"Dad! Mom! How can you expect the world to evolve without freedom for people and the right to protest tyranny, despotism and corruption in Government? Did you know that the American Revolution was launched by a journalist named Thomas Paine? Did you know that journalists like Christiane Amanpour of CNN brought down bloodthirsty tyrants like Milosevic of Serbia and saved millions of Bosnian Muslims? Did you know that muckraking American writers stopped the injustice of Corporate America, who were squeezing every penny out of the mindless consumers, who ate everything that the mass production of America's military industrial complex can produce? When I read about such things I get goose pimples."

"Well, son, I can foresee now that those goose pimples of yours are going to be mighty big sores by the time you get your first article into print." The father was not impressed with his son's aspiring heroism.
Shkeeb wanted to encourage his brother.

"Go ahead Ahmed, if you become a journalist I will buy you a suit of armor and arrange to have a few guys from our club's wrestling team walk home with you whenever you let those buggers know that the pen is mightier than the sword."
The father wanted to show he was in tune with the times.

"Son, it wouldn't be a big deal if all he had to worry about were swords. Now you've even got Stealth Bombers chasing journalists to places like Al-Jazeera Headquarters, which is almost next door to the American Central Command. How can you feel secure about protecting your brother with wrestlers in a club that has never won a wrestling match?"

"The in-thing for governments today is to beat up any journalist that annoys any important official anywhere. Look at Ahmed Mansour and the Al-Arabiyah Station photographers. Ahmed Mansour wasn't even in the Iraqi battle zone, but then Cairo is not a center of heavenly peace, either. Mother always knows how to add a few points to her husband's lectures.

"Do you know that well over one hundred journalists have been killed in Iraq alone by 'friendly fire." Now, this only makes me more furious. How could the so-called "bastion of democracy" in Washington allow such flagrant persecution of journalists? Could it be that they have shown the American war effort to be nothing more than the concoction of a group of crazy idealists who want to turn the entire world into one global computer game; while the sponsors who put them in power share the spoils by selling their goods to keep U.S. troops happy, as they throw their [white] phosphorous weapons into the homes of innocent Iraqis? Iraqis who now pray for a return of the days of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein, rather than these American bullies, who show no mercy to anyone who opposes them, or yearn for the quiet and secure days of a benevolent dictator?"

Ahmed wanted to show the essence of his quest for a journalistic career.
Shkeeb carried on his brother's argument for the necessity of having muckraking journalists fight the oppressors of society.

How can you imagine a world without journalists making the world's people aware of the evil that surrounds them, especially from those that have been entrusted to lead their nations to prosperity, peace and security?

The father took brought the conversation back down to earth.

"Son, I don't want to weaken your sense of enthusiasm about doing good in this world. In fact, I highly praise it. That is why we brought you up the way we did. But then, your mother would never let me sleep, as she worried about whether you came home safely or not. Especially after your headlines start to give goose bumps to the very people meant to guarantee your right to print what you believe is good for the people."

VIDEO FROM SYRIA: DAVID DUKES SAYS ZIONISTS CONTROL AMERICA

Syrian Television: American White Supremacist David Duke Addressing Damacus Demonstration in Support of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, November 24, 00:04:19, MEMRI

"It hurts my heart to tell you that part of my country is occupied by Zionists, just as part of your country, the Golan Heights, is occupied by Zionists."

White Supremacist David Duke