Whoa, a personal letter, thank you for the time you have taken to express your belief.
I am not any authority on world politics so for me to trust you or anyone on any world politic subject, I must examine your words and reflect them upon my own research.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. It may help you to understand that I am simply a human, a citizen of the United States, a global citizen and I do have an opinion that is not "closed to ideas" but I strive to be a student, always a student in everything that I do.
Adam's Story
I am a 42 year old father of two boys ages 6 and 10. I grew up skateboarding in the lower middle class in a Phoenix neighborhood and then was upgraded to a upper class rich Scottsdale neighborhood in my early teens where I "rebelled" against my parents and turned to punk rock in the late 70's early 80's. I eventually hit the skids and joined the ARMY to straighten myself out.
In the Army, I quickly learned that I was not the center of the universe. I was a citizen of the United States of America and I was now a soldier (Infantry Medic) who was a defender of our Nation. I learned what it was to be a soldier, a United States citizen and how powerful free speech and our United States Constitution is. In essence, I was learning that my own life could be on the line to defend what our Constitution had helped create. I am not a part of any religion but find spirituality in the surf, in the sky and in the beauty of all the diversity of the lands that I visit now and back then.
During this period, I grew up and decided to be a responsible adult. I did not forget my roots as a skateboarder, a snowsurfer, and I learned to surf the North Shore of Hawaii and soar the cliffs of Makapuu on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. I travelled extensively in the South Pacific meeting people from other cultures while performing joint training with other military organizations. After my tour in the service, I came home to Arizona, got married and started my own family.
In my quest for knowledge of my own sports, I learned that France and the area of Chamonix in particular has a high density of athletes in extreme disciplines. Bruno Gouvy and Patrick De Gayardon are two in particular that I began to follow. Their snowsurfing insane inclines, climbing then descending, whoa, such intensity. (RIP) These two, and America's Laird Hamilton and Hawaiian Surfer Brock Little, Derrick Doerner and Ken Bradshaw, hang glider pilots like Larry Tudor, I followed their exploits because they excelled at what they did.
My own disciplines were consuming much of my time and my hang gliding was advancing to the point where I was dreaming of my own challenges. I actually placed third in a year long Cross Country Hang Gliding contest with a flight of 60 miles and one of my last flights I had an Ultra Light plane tow me in my hang glider to 10,000' above the ground. I released and I flew cross country into Phoenix and landed in a park next to my house. Many of my friends in hang gliding died over the years and when one of my best friends died, I decided to stop flying and concentrate on my other less dangerous disciplines.
My slalom interest was not forgotten and I searched for information on it due to the lack of participants here in Arizona. In the early 90's I found John Gilmour and Jani Soderhall and was introduced to the International Skateboard Slalom Association. Later, I found out about the
http://www.ncdsa.com (Northern California Downhill Skateboard Association) and joined in on this community. I also found Howard Gordon and realized that I could replace my old Turner Summer Ski with new ones configured to my added weight of an older person.
I had already made a (unrelated) community web site in my free time that reached International status due to the nature of the internet. About the same time, again online, I meet a fellow powder snow surfer from France, Nils and helped him with his web site
http://www.swallowtails.org You see, I enjoy participating in INTERNATIONAL forums to see what interesting ideas that people from other areas are into. My interest in extreme sports, my Hang Gliding Cross Country, Paragliding, Snowsurfing, Skateboarding, Surfing, all these things I enjoy sharing with people from other countrys online in forums and in letters and e-mail as well as doing it in reality instead of only talking about it.
Recently, going through a divorce, I found myself depressed and I thought that flying would bring me out of my depression so I began making a web site
http://www.glidingcircular.com using my contacts in the free flying community to build an international community for all disciplines of free flight. I had a hang gliding friend of 25 years who was also a cross country pilot help me return to the sport. I began chasing him on his flights, talking with him on the radio and in the truck on the way home. We were spending lots of time together planning my first flights for my return to the sport. But he died while trying to land at the end of a cross country flight at Sedona, Arizona. Again the death of a friend caused me to abandon my return to the sport of foot launched soaring flight. The database of
http://www.glidingcircular.com was just sitting there, I could not touch it and I decided to make the best INTERNATIONAL site that I could on slalom skateboarding.
http://www.slalomskateboarder.com was born on wings so to speak, hopefully it will soar.
I began talking with John Gilmour, Jani Soderhall, Henry Hester, Jack Smith, Howard Gordon, Terence Kirby and many other RACERS about my idea of the best web site that I can make on slalom skateboarding. I enjoyed the little Slalom! Magazine of the ISSA and asked Jani Soderhall if I could continue with this spirit. I decided to make the site non-commercial, Henry Hester suggested that we use our own names and agreed with me that ARAB needed to be back online so I asked ARAB to be a part of this. I had read many inequities online and I wanted to make a customized site where the participants could have a picture of themselves each time they posted and if they wanted, they could edit their post so that they could keep up with the times. And so what you see here is what is made with the ideas of many…
I am only one person who has an opinion. I am not the last word on anything. I am not anything more than a member of this community who has taken upon myself to administrate this web site because someone has to. If you think someone can do a better job, suggest who this person is. Already I have tried to give the web site to Jani Soderhall, he told me that I was doing a good job and he would take it only if I was going to "quit."
I am at the point of deciding what to do.
I have read many American slalom skateboarders bashing other slalom enthusiasts online and it agravates me. Many of these top racers from America are punk rock, but punk rock isn't all bad.
I see much of the behavior of myself before I entered the military. I see terrorists actions, war, and then I see skateboarders who terrorize online and then say, good ole USA...
So, to get down to it.
I made a decision to try to make a place where you as a slalom skateboarder could come to and speak your own opinon's on SLALOM SKATEBOARDING and on off topic subjects. I jumped right in there with my own opinion because I want to be a part of this community and now we have come upon the realities of war and now your "letter from Paris"
You have your opinion and so do I.
I respect your opinion and your right to display it. I may not agree with your opinion, but it is your choice to display it and mine to display mine. Remember, I only speak for myself, no one else.
Let's get back to slalom skateboarding, thanks for your story, now you know mine.
Have a nice day Etienne.
On 2003-04-24 11:36, etienne de Bary wrote:
dear Adam,
i'm the husband of a iranian born woman, and i have
an iranian step family for 15 years. The first time i discussed politics with
my new relatives i thought they were a bit insane, unfortunately their most
paranoid previsions realised, and the views they exposed at the time slowly became
advanced views of specialists, and then eventually common sense.
like for some extremist ecologists of my childhood time that were absurdly
obsessed with climate, once excessive thesis unfortunately reveal exact with time.
All at once i understand how difficult it is to receive my opinions,
and i am sorry to see people like you trust such childish lies (or so it seems in
my eyes) used to justify the US middle-east policy.
The blood of the 10 M victims of Iran-Irak war is part of the price
for aboundant and cheap gazoline you enjoy. To you it seems absurd, to middle-east people, it's plain fact like 2 and 2 make 4,
Trying to do without it, as Tokyo platform suggested, would impose dramatic changes to your lifestyle and confort.
Yes the Taliban were your men in the place, and therefore your administration could not take seriously advices that warned them repeatedly.
who's to blame ?
Beat an enemy that is actually beaten yet and disarmed, that does it, quick, easy and profitable.
All i can do is put simple exemples: do you remember the attack against
Hamid Karzai : new chef of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai has a word with one of his
local bodygards, then another native comes, pull a machine gun and opens fire,
the local bodygard holds the agressor on the floor, saving life of all, then two GI's
come and shoot both. They get congratulations from all.
Seems quite natural from your point of view, who cares the name
of the local guy, who cares just to mention his role ?
Now, just make the effort and guess how you'd feel if you were some
persian instead.
Why does your administration keep war prisoners on the ground of Cuba, if not to escape any kind of law ?
Remember the Pershing missiles crisis in the 70s ? what's the idea ?
if there has to be a fight, let's start it in Europe.
It's the same here: What's the problem for US if Catholic, Orthodox and muslims start killing one another all over the old world like they do in Palestine or in ex-USSR, what's the problem if Turkey starts a fight with Iran over Kurdistan and splits out of the EU?
No problem at all...
