Another maid... is dead.

A 33-year-old maid has died. Police are investigating her death as she may "have been tortured before she died." Her body "revealed numerous burns and signs of bruising." Gee, ya think she was tortured? A young man took the woman's body to a hospital but he claims that he is not the woman's sponsor. So, who is? The woman's fingerprints are on file, aren't they? That is one of the first things that ALL expats are required to do upon entering The Sandbox - be fingerprinted. Surely you can identify her and determine who her sponsor is. So what if he claims that he didn't have anything to do with the burn marks and bruises on her body. Punish him. Throw him in jail. Start treating these sponsor's like the criminals they are. The woman is dead. That is murder. Never mind. We all know how this will play out. Someone sponsored her and she ran away, so whoever she ran off to probably tortured her, but no one will ever know who that is. Just another disposable worker...

Looks like I might be wrong about finger-printing. Not everyone has had to be finger-printed yet? Comes as a surprise to me. We were finger-printed as soon as we got here. [We were also required to give various bodily fluids - and then some - before coming to be tested for a myriad of diseases. Do other countries do that for visiting Saudi's? Just curious.]

Did everyone see the newest invention from The Sandbox? "A GPS transceiver placed in a capsule and inserted under a person's skin, so that authorities could track him easily." Or, her. We have them on The Kids. So, it really isn't a new invention at all. However, the Saudi inventor took the "chip" a step further. Instead of just a chip that "could be used to track terrorists, criminals, fugitives, illegal immigrants, political dissidents, domestic servants and foreigners overstaying their visas," he [she?] wanted to make a "Model B" which "would have an extra function - a dose of cyanide to remotely kill the wearer without muss or fuss." Lovely. And we say that you've contributed nothing... "German media outlets reported last week that a Saudi inventor's application to patent a 'killer chip,' as the Swiss tabloids put it, had been denied." Hmmph. Who would of thought... "The invention will probably be found to violate paragraph two of the German Patent Law - which does not allow inventions that transgress public order or good morals." I say patent it in the U.S. There is no doubt in my mind that the jeja would believe it is a good thing, this "killer chip." At the very least, put a regular "chip" [Model A?] in all domestic workers so that they can be identified when they are found dead. Just for one second imagine what would happen if someone in the States wanted to do this. The ACLU-heads would explode!

A young woman tried to commit suicide by hanging herself at her family's home; she's okay now. Doesn't say what the problems were. Perhaps she wasn't happy with her father's choice of a 60-year-old man to be her husband. Who knows? But, obviously, something was very wrong.

Seven men have confessed to "breaking into and robbing homes, cars and farm properties." See how easily crimes are solved in The Sandbox? You get arrested and you confess to your crime. Simple. The same article gives some vague details of a 34-year-old man trying to take his 18-month-old niece for a bride. The man has, of course, "been identified as mentally ill" and "has been committed to a mental institution." Nothing to see here folks, move along...

A couple of months ago there was an old woman who got caught in the act of "khulwa" and was sentenced to jail and lashings. She is 75-years-old! She is in the news again, today. "The Court of Cassation has refused to ratify a sentence handed to a 75-year-old widow who was accused of khulwa (illegal seclusion) with two young men, who were reportedly bringing her bread." So, then, as I understand it, they have refused to agree to the sentence and she should be found not guilty? If she is not guilty, then the two young men can't be guilty, either, right? And they won't be serving four months in jail and receiving 40 lashes? The article doesn't actually say that, but instead, just describes the case... The woman, Sawadi, was married to a Saudi man - and since she is a widow, he's is, obviously, dead. "She previously told the court that she considered her late husband's nephew... her son because she breast-fed him when he was a baby. But the court rejected her claim, saying she had no evidence." Imagine that. No pictures of her breast-feeding the man from 25 years ago. Do the math. She was 50 when she breast-fed her nephew? Okay. Sure. I'd be calling B.S. on that claim, too. No matter. Her lawyer, Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, "said the verdict was against the principles of Shariah. 'Islam has given women different and simpler rules to follow when they become old...' The judge was supposed to deal with this woman on that basis." Old women get different rules. I did not know that. I don't quite understand the court system, here, but the cas has been returned to the lower court [as I do understand it] "with several observations on the previous verdict, including the rejection of her breastfeeding claim and the fact that she is old." Is it normal for a 50-year-old woman to be breast-feeding someone else's baby? "The villagers confirmed that he [the 25-year-old man] is her breast-fed son." So, even though there are no pictures, there were witnesses? File under: Only in Saudi Arabia.

This, too. File under: Only in Saudi Arabia. Although, technically it covers a lot more of the Middle East than just Saudi Arabia. There have been some tremors in Al-Eis /Al-Ais [I don't know where Al-Eis is] and that city/town has been evacuated. Apparently it causes problems for quite a few of the men as they need to keep their wives separate. It is "a logistical hassle." Awww. Isn't that too bad... "In many cases, polygamous men must accommodate their spouses separately lest the ladies annoy each other." Translation: Cat-fight! "The Civil Defense has allotted one emergency shelter per family, but men with more than one wife have complained..." Personally, I find it impossible to muster up any sympathy at all for the situation, and shake my head at the ridiculousness of it all. LFZ? You bet'cha!