Why would Saudi Arabia want to get its embassy employees killed in Iraq? Oh, yeah, and then there's the political reasons...

o-o-o-o-oooooh no-o-o-o-oooo, there's NO reservations about contact with the iraqi government, absolutely NONE, unless, of course, you want to consider that the saudi government thinks the iraqi government is biased against sunnis... but, really, that's just a teeny-tiny little thing... pay it no mind...

The Iraqi capital isn't secure enough yet for an embassy, Saudi Arabia said Wednesday, insisting its diplomatic absence there doesn't reflect a lack of support for the country.

Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal's comments following months of urging by both Iraq and the United States for the kingdom to establish an embassy.

His statement was an apparent retreat from September comments that his country would open a Baghdad embassy soon.

"There aren't any reservations at all regarding contact with the Iraqi government by Arab countries," Saud told reporters.

"The real reason why there's no embassy in Baghdad is not for political but for security reasons," said Saud. "When secure conditions are present, then embassies ... will go to Iraq."

Iraqi and U.S. officials have been pushing Baghdad's Sunni neighbors to open embassies in Iraq as a sign of support for the Shiite-dominated government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia has kept al-Maliki's government at arm's length and has criticized it as biased against Iraq's Sunni Arab minority.

i don't know what their problem is... isn't the green zone safer than washington d.c...? i must remember to ask mccain about that when i see him again...

speaking of embassies and security, the employees of denmark's embassy here in kabul were "evacuated" to "undisclosed location" here in the city yesterday... it seems there's been a little flap over another cartoon...

The Danish Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it has evacuated its staff from embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan because of threats after newspapers reprinted a cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

Embassy employees have been moved to secret locations in both countries' capitals but continue to work, Foreign Ministry spokesman Erik Laursen said.

The announcement comes after Danish intelligence officials warned of an "aggravated" terror threat against Denmark since newspapers in the country in February reprinted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

The warning specifically singled out North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The threat "is so concrete that we had to take this decision," Laursen told The Associated Press. "The decision is based on intelligence," he said, declining to elaborate.

sunday is the day afghanistan celebrates gaining its independence from britain back in 1919... damn near every morning at the ungodly hour of 6, choppers are doing practice fly-bys right past my window, at least ten of them, two-by-two, followed by another ten screaming jets... as soon as it finishes its agonizingly slow upload, i will post a youtube video of two of the choppers on the fly-by that i took about 45 minutes ago...

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U.S. and Britain last in affluent nation rating of children's well-being

even tho' this isn't good news, i actually am glad to see it because it confirms many of my own less-than-expert observations...

Issuing ratings on the well-being of children in affluent nations, UNICEF faulted the United States and Britain Wednesday, ranking them bottom among 21 industrialized countries. Typical of poor scorers were children who did not trust their friends, rarely spent time with parents and over-ate. Poverty among minorities and a lack of books in homes also dragged down scores.

The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark topped the overall UNICEF league table, based on surveys among children and other data.

[...]

The report flunks the US and Britain, which are respectively in 20th and 21st position.

The two countries score particularly badly in the "Family and Peer Relationships" and the "Behaviours and Risks" categories.

For the first of these categories, 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds were asked questions such as if their friends were "kind and helpful" and how often they ate the main meal of the day with parents. Living in single-parent families and stepfamilies lowered the score.

To evaluate risks, pollsters checked on how many children avoided alcohol, hazardous sex and pregnancy as well as boosted their health eating fruit and vegetables every day.

Another category checked books in the home or how many children had these eight educational items at home: a desk for study, a quiet place to work, a computer for schoolwork, educational software, an internet connection, a calculator, a dictionary and school textbooks.

The United States ranked last when it came to child health and safety.

i notice a distinct difference in kids' attitudes as i travel around, and, i have to say, the negativity i observe among kids in the u.s. is a marked contrast from what i observe in other countries... here in argentina, it's very common to see family groups doing things together, from shopping and taking bike rides to having picnics or just walking around... even teenagers are surprisingly polite, giving up seats on trains and buses for their elders, holding doors open, and shaking hands and giving the customary kiss on the cheek when being introduced to an adult... don't get me wrong... there are annoying punks here just like everywhere, but, overall, kids just feel a lot more integrated into the daily functioning of society, and i think that's a very good thing...

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