I lived at RUH Al Hamra for a year 1999-2000...very sad to see the devastation.

My thoughts to all impacted.

1D

KSA = Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


What's up and how is it linked to Air Canada?

[This message has been edited by davistev (edited 05-13-2003).]

Well for one thing we have some members here who have family working in KSA; Ken Haamer's mother and Sean the pilot's parents if memory serves me well.Hope all is well with them
Secondly, terrorist attacks have had a major effect on airline pax loads around the world and in case you haven't noticed AC is in some kind of minor financial trouble.
Thirdly, we have all mostly agreed that this is a Canadian site that can include items of interest to us all, in effect an onmi site that mostly includes AC news and info.

No worries. I phoned her this morning to get the story, 'cause everyone phones me to check. Her take is that it means she now probably has a better chance at getting the substantial raise she just asked for. The only downside is that a dress shop where she just had a dress made is now off limits, so she'll have to pay the Filipino taxi driver extra to circumvent the police road blocks.

It's a different world over there. And though it's unreported in the western press, car bombs in Riyadh aren't all that uncommon. Not as common as muggings in downtown Detroit perhaps, but certainly more common than snipers in DC.

Life goes on...

Its very sad about that bombing, I know someone who lost a friend in the attack.

[This message has been edited by fromYYZ_flyer (edited 05-13-2003).]

Ken hAAmer,

Why is it relevant for you to post that it is a "filipino" taxi driver???

Would you also mention their race if it was a Black or Pakitani??

I don't get it, nor am I amused.

'Cause that's what she told me.

She finds the Filipino drivers to be much safer, more courteous, and have much better kept taxis than the Saudi drivers, which are really your only other choice apparently. Seems that over there (in KSA) taxis are genericly grouped as either Saudi taxis or Filipino taxis.

The two Filipino guys in our accounting department, who both also worked in KSA at some time in the past, as accountants, also use this distinction.

BTW, isn't Filipino (and Pakistani) a nationality distinction as opposed to racial? Sort of like referring to an American air carrier as opposed to a Canadian air carrier, or Chinese, for that matter.

I think your right. Israeli,Canadian,Polish,Chinese are nationalities rather than racial groups. Racial things are calling by skin color etc. I think its different than nationalities.

Globe man--you are beginning to sound like SH seeing bigotry and racism behind every door Philipinos are a nationality and in Saudi it makes a difference that someone is a certain nationality. It implies certain status; neither good nor bad just status much as Italians are identified with pasta and wine and mafia and the Irish and Brits with drinking and fighting and the Scottish and Jews with parsimony,etc.

This BS and politically correct crap is just that crap.

Would it be fair to say that even if you think that race should be insignificant, in a racist country it definitely is significant? (And I'm sure that in KSA your race DOES matter.)

HUH?????

Posted by Parnel
Brits with drinking and fighting

I take exception to this, you Canadians have it all wrong, because our bar shut at 11pm we are fighting to get drinks

I asked a simple question Parnel. There was no need to have a heavy tone. I was genuinely interested in the connection between Air Canada, its frequent flyer programme and the bombing in Saudi Arabia.

I still see no connection other than of the OMNI type.

Dave

True enough but why haven't you complained about the hockey banter that goes on here which is also "OMNI" material.Again for the 100th time the vast majority of us have agreed in the past to allow this type of stuff on the AC board.Why didn't you also question the thread selling a cell phone;why this thread which also has a relationship to flyers and their security.
And,it was relevant to AC in that terrorism does affect traffic on all airlines and in case you hadn't noticed AC are in bankruptcy protection.
My apologies in advance if it seems like a heavy tone but it gets pretty tiresome to go through this Q&A so regularly particularly with regular posters like yourself.Your tone seemed a bit off as well,at least in my view, which prompted the response.