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When I was called, there were about 60 of us present. We were all gone in three hours.

Bringing with me: Mark Bowden's "Guests of the Ayatollah/The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam." And a notepad.

I'll report later.* Doug

Well! It appears that you have already dismiss yourself from jury duty if a Muslin Terrorist is on trial for parking tickets.

Jon, I thought they had the hostages in Iran for a couple months. How did you manage to get out after three hours?

Doug, that's an excellent read. I know and work with some of the guys that were on the rescue mission.
I was called for Jury Duty about a month ago. I actually made it into "the box" but was dismissed by the defense attorney's first challenge. I guess she didn't want a former police officer on there who knew both the judge and the prosecutor. :)

All prospective jurors at the courthouse in Greensboro were dismissed at 2:20 this afternoon.

Talk about earning an easy 12 bucks!

John, you're right about the book so far. It's very interesting to read about the involvement of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who's now president of Iran. Also, one of the leaders of the hostage takers, Hussein Sheikh-ol-eslam, apparently developed his anti-American views -- surprise -- in Berkeley, Calif., where he was a student in the early '70s. Bowden writes: "Sheikh-ol-eslam had digested the fervent rhetoric of those activist years, the rants against the 'tyrannical,' 'racist,' 'imperialist' American establishment ... And here, at his mercy, were the very agents of American imperialism denounced in that hyperbolic campus rhetoric. He would make the most of it."

Ah, yes, and now we read about the resurgence of SDS on college campuses, just in time to protest against the Iraq War and any possible military action against Iran. Iran will certainly find this kind of support in America welcome in the 60's tradition of Berkley. It worked 35 years ago. Who will be the this generations' Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda?

Also note, Doug, that Nilufar Ebtekar (aka "Mary" the student's rep and main interpreter for the prisoners) was recently the Iranian Vice-President.
So with Ahmadinejad and Ebtekar we have two of the main characters in the hostage-taking governing Iran.
Little wonder about their position against the U.S.

It's very disturbing to me to find that many of these Islamic radicals so hostile to the West were educated in Western universities -- Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (A&T) being the best local example. Did their experience here contribute to the radicalization process? We tend to assume that exposing young people from other cultures to liberal Western values is the best way to build cross-cultural bridges and lasting friendships, but it may have the opposite effect if these people equate liberal Western values with decadence and at the same time get a dose of anti-"imperialist" rhetoric on college campuses. On the whole, maybe we win over more than we offend, but the exceptions ought to challenge our assumptions.

It's very disturbing to me to find that many of these Islamic radicals so hostile to the West were educated in Western universities* Doug

Doug why would be shocked to find that out? I am sure in your search of educational history by our enemies. We have been doing that for a century. Surely you know the whole military staff of Imperial Japan was educated at Havard and Yale and all of the Southern Calforina Universites in the 20's and 30's.

ps....The late Roman Republic thought it up first. Most of the alledge uneducated barbarians were educated in Roma on a student loan exchange program by the Greek Profs. Dang Greeks! No wonder they got payback from the Romans 400 years later.

So Doug, hope you enjoyed the one medium cheese pizza (with three toppings, breadsticks and of course-dipping sauce)from Papa John's that you got for the twelve bucks you received from jury duty.

Doug,

Why would you be surprised when most of our college campuses are the greatest enclaves of leftist groups in the country? The professorial staff of most universities are from the far left. Imagine if you will if some of these people should attend the University of Wisconsin and take a course on Islam taught by the Nutty Professor Kevin Barrett. What are they to believe when the university allows a professor to "teach" that the 911 attacks were an "inside job" masterminded by the Bush Administration to justify U.S. aggression in the Middle East? He's only one of the many loony leftists on our campuses around the country. Why should we be surprised when this indoctrination is happening to our young. And, as I said before, we are seeing the rise of radicalism on campuses headed by groups like SDS. We've got a rough road ahead.

Any truth to the rumor that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed got cut at tryouts for the Step Team at A&T and he vowed "I'm gonna come back and get you MF'ers?

He could be angry he was never invited back for Homecoming.

Is this conservative liberal-bashing fest open to the voice of a moderate independent who teaches college?

Would any of you agree that Republican AND Democratic heads of industry in the US would ike nothing better than to "make the world safe" for US money-making interests and consolidated economic power? The constant hue and cry for "free trade" is always offset by the usual whining for government subsidy and tax write-offs. We are a de facto empire, and the polticians love it.