<\/a><\/p>\n

These (American) ladies recently won an international bridge competition in Shanghai, and displayed their little sign when receiving their prize. The sign was prompted by questions from players from other countries:<\/p>\n

\n“What we were trying to say, not to Americans but to our friends from other countries, was that we understand that they are questioning and critical of what our country is doing these days, and we want you to know that we, too, are critical,” Ms. Greenberg said, stressing that she was speaking for herself and not her six teammates.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anyone who’s traveled much (or simply interacted much with folks from other parts of the world) in recent years, will recognize the situation. Many U.S. government policies including, but not limited to the Iraq fiasco, are broadly condemned worldwide. In my experience, however, most folks are clever enough to distinguish between the government and its people (something many Americans appear to struggle with), so one of the first things they often ask about is where you stand on the war. The faculty and graduate students at the University ask me. Sub-Evil’s schoolmates ask him. I’m hardly surprised that it came up around the coffee pots and meal tables at an international bridge tournament.<\/p>\n

Apparently, however, there are those who believe that it’s unacceptable for these people to publicly separate themselves from the current administration. The women didn’t make any sort of policy statement and criticize any particular actions. All they did is self-identify as being in the near (or actual – depends on the election) majority of voters that didn’t tick the Shurb box on the day. Yet the United States Bridge Federation has chosen to void their bowels and enter the full court press on these players:<\/p>\n

\n[The sanction] calls for a one-year suspension from federation events, including the World Bridge Olympiad next year in Beijing; a one-year probation after that suspension; 200 hours of community service “that furthers the interests of organized bridge”; and an apology drafted by the federation\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n

It would also require them to write a statement telling “who broached the idea of displaying the sign, when the idea was adopted, etc.”<\/p>\n

Alan Falk, a lawyer for the federation, wrote the four team members on Nov. 6, “I am instructed to press for greater sanction against anyone who rejects this compromise offer.”\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hey, we even have some classic “We’ll reward you for folding early and turning against your friends”. Charming, really. Participating in the international circuit is a key component of the income for some of these ladies, so this is serious business, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s hard for them to stand up to this level of pressure. I hope they can get some really good lawyers and smack the crap out of these small-minded dweebs. I’d not be surprised (or blame them), however, if they try to find a quick way out of this with minimal damage.<\/p>\n

Thanks to 21st Century Citizen<\/a> for the pointer. They source to the NYTimes<\/a>, which is where they (and I) got the photo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These (American) ladies recently won an international bridge competition in Shanghai, and displayed their little sign when receiving their prize. The sign was prompted by questions from players from other countries: “What we were trying to say, not to Americans but to our friends from other countries, was that we understand that they are questioning … Continue reading “Agree with our leaders, or pass”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,13,19],"tags":[57,37,68,865,38],"class_list":["post-698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-politics","category-travels","tag-bush","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-law","tag-politics","tag-travel"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p90sy-bg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":590,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2007\/06\/26\/next-thing-you-know-people-might-start-walking\/","url_meta":{"origin":698,"position":0},"title":"Next thing you know, people might start walking","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"26 Jun 07","format":false,"excerpt":"It's long been the case in the U.S. that companies could get tax breaks on money they spent assisting employees in driving cars to\/from work (including the vehicle itself, fuel, parking, etc.). Some crazy hippies or eco-terrorists or some such have proposed the radical idea that similar tax breaks should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/science\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":194,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2005\/07\/09\/white-hands-for-those-in-london\/","url_meta":{"origin":698,"position":1},"title":"White hands for those in London","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"9 Jul 05","format":false,"excerpt":"After the devastating Madrid bombings a few years ago a number of people chose to respond by painting their hands white, a symbol which ...originated in Spain, when students in Madrid used it in 1996 as a sign of innocence and of their revulsion at the murder, by the ETA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"White hands in harebells","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/photos21.flickr.com\/24802316_132952e43e_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2005\/02\/09\/letter-to-collin-peterson-opposing-hr-418-real-id-act-of-2005\/","url_meta":{"origin":698,"position":2},"title":"Letter to Collin Peterson opposing HR 418 (REAL ID Act of 2005)","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"9 Feb 05","format":false,"excerpt":"As your constituent, I urge you to oppose the REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418), which is an uncalled-for assault on immigrants and would force states to deny driver\u2019s licenses to undocumented immigrants in violation of their own policies. I believe our borders can be protected and our security\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":872,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2008\/09\/11\/you-have-to-either-laugh-or-cry-and-ill-help-you-do-both\/","url_meta":{"origin":698,"position":3},"title":"You have to either laugh or cry (and I’ll help you do both)","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"11 Sep 08","format":false,"excerpt":"Lacking the time or neural function to generate any new content, I'll instead pretend to be engaging in some sort of hip new mash-up by dropping two wildly different videos on you. Connections? Nope. Cool synthesis that comments on the post-modern state? Doubt it. Worth the time? Probably. The first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":384,"url":"https:\/\/UnhinderedByTalent.com\/Phi\/archives\/2006\/09\/11\/what-do-we-choose-to-remember-about-september-11th\/","url_meta":{"origin":698,"position":4},"title":"What do we choose to remember about September 11th?","author":"Nic McPhee","date":"11 Sep 06","format":false,"excerpt":"Today our campus mall was graced with zillions of little paper American flags as part of one of the many \"Don't forget\" events on this, the 5th anniversary of the tragedy of September 11th. 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