MYOB, Pedophiles, Car Chases and AIDS...

Am I aging myself by remembering, "Mind Your Own Beeswax!" Did anyone else say that as a child? Do kids say that anymore??? Nah. Probably not... It is quite apparent that some people here - in a society where privacy and secrecy is so highly valued - cannot seem to "mind their own business beeswax." This says that "Police arrested a Pakistani expatriate with the help of the local branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice on the charge of illegal seclusion with an Asian nurse at an apartment. Commission members appeared on the scene in the early morning following a tip-off that the woman had gone to a house where only bachelors lived." So someone called to report this. Apparently someone has nothing better to do with him or herself than keep an eye on what the neighbors are doing. That someone needs to get their own life. And mind their own beeswax!

When I "researched" the issue of child-bride marriage, three months ago, I was shocked to find that several States allowed young girls to marry at the age of thirteen with parental and a judge's permission. Took the wind right out of the sail to find that out... And, while it is not the so-called norm, that it is even allowed gave me little leeway to say, "Oh, that only happens here, in the Sandbox and other Middle Eastern countries." It does appear to be much more socially acceptable on this side of the world, however. It is one thing for a fourteen-year-old girl to marry a seventeen-year-old boy, but quite another for a fourteen-year-old girl to marry someone FIVE times older than her! Thankfully SOME sanity exists: "The chief judge of the Qatif Shariah Court, Saeed Madlouh, nullified on Wednesday the marriage of a man aged more than 70 with a 14-year-old girl following the girl's complaint to the court. The girl went to the court with her divorced mother and told the judge to save her life as her father had forced her to marry a man who was older than her grandfather." [Yeah. Isn't that just what every little girl dreams of for a fairy-tale-come-true wedding...] Judge Madlouh deserves a huge round of applause and a great deal of respect for seeing the young girl's point of view and not allowing this preposterous union to take place.

More sanity evolving, here. In an attempt to rein in over zealous members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, field workers have been ordered "to give a written undertaking that they would not chase any car even if they suspect the inmates [huh?] are involved in foul play." The "presidency of the commission" has sent a circular to its offices that "field members have been directed to inform the police if they detect any such violation. The circular directed its 3,557 field members to inform the nearest police station instead of chasing any suspect vehicle." Talk about taking the wind out of someone's sail and raining on the parade! What will the commission members do with themselves if they cannot be the "first response" teams when they detect "moral violations?" They seem to pride themselves on being the first to admonish others for the "illegal mixing of men and women, harassment of women by men and immodest conduct by men and women." That is what they do! That is, after all, their whole purpose, isn't it? The entire article is worth reading. It will be interesting to see what further incidents, with regard to the conduct of the commission's members, get reported in our local newspapers and if there will, in fact, be a change as to how commission members handle responding to the violators of "moral conduct."

Now, throw the aforementioned sanity [and any semblance of logic] to the wayside! Honestly, I don't even know how to comment on this, "AIDS common in those marrying abroad, says study." Hello?!? What color is the sky in YOUR world, and how is Peter Pan these days??? The article says, "Deadly diseases such as AIDS and Hepatitis have been found to be common in Saudis entering into wedlock abroad." Exactly what are you saying? That the Saudis are in perfect health and then somehow contact a "deadly disease" once they marry abroad? Because that is how I interpret it. A field study said a "random survey of 3,000 Saudis showed the low educational level and social standards of some of the foreign wives." So, then, are we to believe due to the lack of education and social standards of these "foreign wives" that they automatically give their Saudi husbands some "deadly disease?" You can't be serious! And, if you are, what does that say about the Saudi husbands? That they are even more lacking in education and social standards than the "foreign wives" they choose to marry! Audacity abounds!!! Outrageousness to the umteenth degree. Just read it and tell me with a straight face that you too are not just shaking your head in utter disbelief of such an inane diatribe...