R&R in Qatar.

Going Down Range samples the creature comforts we take for granted.

BTW, Qatar seems to be be what the left-fascists mean when they screech "American imperialism".

Flush toilets and a Chili's restaurant. Those poor opressed bastards. Have we no shame, America?


Thursday, June 16, 2005

Sorry, but I am not dead

I am sorry for not posting for the past few weeks. A while back I went on R&R to Qatar for four days. The US Army runs a facility that is used by troops to relax from the combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is part of a big logistics facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar. It was nice to sleep in without the fear of a rocket attack, use real toilets and take a nice long hot shower. The dinning facility was good. There was Baskin and Robin’s ice cream, unlimited Gatorade and lots of good fruit to eat. At the gym there were tons of free weight and weight machines with an Orange Julius that charged $1.50 extra for a scoop of protein powder with their drinks. The bonus part was going to Chilis and getting a nice big cheese burger and a real beer. Each soldier is allowed three beers a day. The Army sold beer tickets that cost three dollars and was tracked to your social security number. Some troops were selling their beer tickets for seven or eight dollars at the end of the night. Bonus points was that there were a swimming pool next to Chilis.

One discordant note:

One though came to my mind while I was walking about the mall. I was looking for a bookshop to buy the latest bestseller, classic of literature, or some tales of old Arabic culture; something like the Norse sagas, or tales of old for the region to read while sitting at Starbucks. To my amazement there were no bookstores in the mall. This might be trivial to you, but to me bookstores are a repository of knowledge where ideas can be disseminated or knowledge can be purchased for the inquisitive. Not here.

I guess that part of our imperial system hasn't been implemented yet. Who needs 200 different Sniglets books anyway? Or bibles?