It's a Smaller World: Bringing homo-hating, anti-Semitic Saudis into an airline alliance is no cause for alarm

Opinion: Mark my words: I'll never be visiting Saudi Arabia. Unless of course I'm invited to take part in some debate I'll hypothetically title, ''Homosexuality: Gift from God or Lower than Pus?'' with a guarantee from the Saudis that I won't be jailed for blasphemy or being gay. But I'm glad that the country's flag carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines, is joining Sky Team, as the alliance announced Jan. 11. Sky Team is the airline alliance of Delta Air Lines, Air France, Aeroflot, KLM Royal Dutch and quite a few others. But the move is not without controversy. According to the right-wing World Net Daily news site, former GOP Rep. Fred Grandy is taking the issue to Congress and talk radio. Grandy certainly has insight into travel issues, having portrayed ''Gopher,'' the lovable purser on The Love Boat for years. (And a special happy birthday wish to him, as he and I share June 29 birthdays!) One might think that this is just between Grandy and his windmill, but the American Center for Law and Justice has joined the party on the right. ''Late last week, we reported to you about the troubling business alliance between Delta Air Lines and Saudi Arabian Airlines, which is owned by the Saudi government – a government that embraces discriminatory policies targeting religion, ethnicity, and gender,'' an ACLJ June 27 release reads, in part. What? And the Saudis don't discriminate against my gay ass too? I think capital punishment qualifies. ... (more)

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