http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/11/30/images/2003113002781701.jpg

Qureshi uses U.S. Open platform to call for understanding

By Matt Majendie
NEW YORK | Fri Sep 10, 2010 5:14pm EDT

(Reuters) - Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi used the platform of the U.S. Open to deliver a message of peace on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington.

Qureshi lost in Friday's men's doubles final alongside India's Rohan Bopanna, the other half of a unique partnership nicknamed the "Indo-Pak Express."

In his on-court after-match speech, Qureshi said: "I feel there's a very wrong perception of Pakistan as a terrorist country.

"We are a very peace-loving country and we want peace as much as you."

Peace has very much been the message of Bopanna and Qureshi since their doubles partnership began with them sporting "Stop War, Start Tennis" sweatshirts in a bid to improve relations between their two countries.

Qureshi delved further into the message he was trying to get across at Arthur Ashe Stadium after the 7-6 7-6 defeat to Americans Bob and Mike Bryan.

"Since September 11, every time I come to the States or Western countries, I feel people have the wrong impression about Pakistan as a terrorist nation," he said.

"There are extremists I think in every religion but, just because of them, you can't judge the whole country as a terrorist nation.

"I just want to get this message across as a Pakistani."

Qureshi said he vividly recalled the moment of the 2001 attacks in New York, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

An up-and-coming tennis player at the time, he had been at a training camp in Holland when he saw events unfold at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.

"It was strange but I was going through the channels and I actually thought it was a movie or something," he recalled. "I switched the channel again and then felt like it was the same movie on a different channel.

"I was kind of confused. Everything was mostly in Dutch so I couldn't really understand. Then I actually realized what had happened. It was a very shocking moment."

(Editing by Steve Ginsburg)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6885M920100910

solidarity against the owners:



When a football player, standing by himself, points a finger to the sky, he is usually either giving praise to God or stating, if you were unaware of this fact, that he is indeed number one. Other players have also been known to raise a different finger in fits of self expression. But last night when two teams, billed as bitter enemies, walked onto the field before the start of the NFL season, holding a finger in the air, you knew that this wasn't business as usual. As the national anthem ended, the defending Super Bowl Champs New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings raised their finger in a gesture directly aimed at the fans and the owners, and the message was clear: “WE are one. We aren’t opponents who want to rip our heads off on the field. We are unionists locked in a bitter labor battle against 32 of the most powerful people in the United States, and we will not be moved.” On the NFL’s website, the heading for this particular clip reads, “Players show solidarity.”
In a country where unions are ignored when they’re not demonized, it was perhaps the most widely-seen, collectively experienced display of labor solidarity in the history of the United States. Hyperbole? Consider that the game garnered the highest opening night ratings in the history of the NFL. 28% of all households were unexpectedly treated to a taste of solidarity.
Predictably, the game’s announcer, Al Michaels, a proud man of the right who loves slipping in political jabs into telecasts, couldn’t hide his disgust saying with serious snark, “There’s nothing like a labor statement to start the season.” Similarly, on this morning’s ESPN radio show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, former NFL player Mike Golic, who described himself as a “proud union guy”, said he hated the gesture, calling it counterproductive and alienating to fans. His partner Mike Greenberg echoed that “99%” of the emails they received made clear that viewers hated the gesture. He said, “In every sports labor battle fans side against the players because they are being paid to play a game and people just want to watch.”
I don't buy it. That may have been true in the past, but this time they’re wrong. For the players, going public was a brilliant move. I don’t know who has the time or energy to email into Mike and Mike in the morning at the crack of dawn, but to judge today’s predicted fallout, the reaction in virtual-land has mirrored the reaction of the crowd at the Louisiana Superdome: one of respect. This shouldn’t surprise us. There are a number of reasons why the political scales tip more toward the players this time around. more at link...

http://www.thenation.com/blog/154625/nfl-opener-become-site-solidarity

While I sometimes scream at how much the players make (work/play same thing!), when ya think about how much the owners make...Go workers!