Posting Will Suffer

I started my fourth Arabic class tonight. I started taking Arabic shortly after we came to The Sandbox and took a couple "conversational" Arabic classes. I learned how to say "hello" [marharba], "please" [min fadlak], "thank you" [shukran] and "big dog" [kalb (dog) kabeer (big)]. To say that my Arabic conversational skills are basic is an understatement. They are the utmost basic. I can come up with a couple more words, but certainly nothing I could hold a conversation with. Then I took a reading / writing class a couple of years ago. It was difficult, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Tonight I went to class, "Modern Standard Arabic," which is supposed to teach me how to use my [utmost] basic skills in combination with reading / writing. My gosh. I thought for sure we would at least review the alphabet. I thought wrong. Very wrong. We started out with vocabulary and these were the words: literature, building, Egyptian, work, live and six other words - I think there were eleven in all. Then we moved to four verbs - none of which I can rattle off, here, now. Minutes later we were constructing sentences IN ARABIC. "Nour studies literature at an Egyptian university." What?!? You've got to be kidding me. Totally lost. I mean totally. I am considering retaking the reading / writing course to get back up to speed. When you don't use something on a regular basis and when it has been two - almost three - years since taking that course - trust me, you'd be lost.

If I decide to continue with this course - and that decision is up in the air, as of now, tonight, then I need to do a cram refresher course from the reading / writing course I took before and I only have tonight and tomorrow to do it. The next class is on Monday evening. Yikes!

Posting will suffer if I stay in the course... And so will my brain. I'm all up to learning Arabic. I have personal reasons for wanting to do so. But I really think before I try reading sentences such as "Nour studies literature at an Egyptian university" that I need to be able to at least recognize the letters. I didn't recognize them. Not a single one. It is definitely not an easy language to master - speaking it - or reading and writing it. Arabic has THREE different forms for every letter - depending on if it goes at the beginning of the word, or if it is in the middle of the word, or if it is the last letter of the word. Making my decision as I type this and think this through a bit more. I need a refresher course on reading and writing. That course is on Sunday and Tuesday. I don't think I need to show up for "Modern Standard Arabic" on Monday...

Ransom paid, ship released, pirates drown

Perfect. Call it karma. Call it whatever you want. The Sirius Star, an oil tanker, carrying some 250 gazillion gallons of oil from Saudi Arabia was hijacked in November. The pirates wanted some ridiculous amount of cash to release the ship and the ship's 25 crew members. The story has a happy ending though. The pirates were only able to collect $3,000,000 in ransom. That's not the happy part. This is: "...things went badly wrong for the pirates... they squabbled over how to split the money and than a wave washed off their getaway boat and drowned five of them." Pure schadenfreude! Bwahhh ha ha hah!!!

Read about this first at JammieWearingFool. Dinah Lord has it posted, as well.

Our two local newspapers, today, both have an article about the Sirius Star, but say nothing about the five pirates going for a swim with the fishes in the deep blue sea...

What's The Count?

It is a new year. Last year's total was 102. So far this year three or four...

A traffic police officer has been executed. The criminal, who is identified in the article, was convicted "of kidnapping an expatriate man, raping him and taking away his money at gunpoint... taking the mobile phone... and driving under the influence of liquor." Bizarre. Just bizarre.

"During investigation [sic], Al-Oqail acknowledged the crime he had committed... The court decided to execute the man as a deterrent and lesson to others..." I'm telling you, this kind of justice works. The courts in the States - the judges - the attorneys for the criminals? Wusses!

It is gonna be messy. I just KNOW it is!

The big water bowl in the back yard that I float around in all summer, "working," has been leaking for sometime. No biggie. Every morning we'd just throw the hose in it and bring the water back up to where it needed to be. We DH decided a couple of weeks ago that now is the perfect time to find out what is wrong with the pool - where / why it is leaking. We quit filling the pool in the morning. It kept going down and down and down. Our all around handy-man, "Mr. Don't Get Anything Done On Time Ever Refuse To Speak Clearly And Give The 'Madam' The Run-A-Round," Rev, came by and said, "Iz leeeeeking in the valve." Okay. Rev, who never showed up to fix the pump that was making loud obnoxious sounds like it was a jet engine getting ready for take-off - even though he was called a dozen times - said, "Weel shut pump uff." Good. It's broken anyway. Why don't you get it fixed, while you're at it? He had the pool cleaner quit cleaning the pool - actually, since the pump quit, the pool couldn't be vacuumed anyway. No since having just the leaves skimmed off. I can do that when I'm retrieving toys out of the pool [don't ask].

No, Rev. It "iz not leeeeeking in the valve." We quit filling the pool and the water just kept draining out. A couple of days later the water level was well below the valve [don't ask me why it is called the valve - I would call it a "jet," but whatever] and it was past the "filter level," too. The water continued to go down. It was leaking more slowly, but it was still leaking. Somewhere... The pool contains a lot of water. You'd think with the amount of water that was leaking out we'd have a sink hole in our back yard somewhere. We don't. DH called Rev and said, do you think it's the light? Is it leaking through there? Rev came by. His answer was, "Weel seeee." And, then Rev had his worker - out regular pool guy - take the light out. Only the light isn't in there with a couple of screws. It was grouted in. So, the light has now been hammered and chipped out. The light is not the problem.

The light - dangling and useless.

Two days ago, Rev came by and was trying to tell me what he thinks the problem is now. None of what he said made any sense to me - phonetically or literally. I basically threw my hands up in the air and said, "Rev, I don't understand a word you are saying to me and the words that I do understand make absolutely no sense. You need to talk to DH." Rev's standard response to me - always - is, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." No, Rev. Do it now. Call him on his cell. The number is 050-555-5555. Rev set up a time to meet DH this morning at 8:30. When Rev tells DH something - he keeps his word. If he tells me something - he blows me off, completely. I would much rather that DH deal with the man. I just don't have the patience.

The problem, apparently, is behind the tile. The cement must be cracked somewhere and water has been slowly leaking - increasing in its frequency - for sometime now. The tile is going to have to be taken out, the cement repaired, then the whole area will be regrouted and retiled. Great. Rev took one of the tiles with him - he is going to try to match it. Good luck with that. The pool is some twenty-plus years old. Those tiles were likely a much different color blue then than they are now - between the chlorine and the sun. The new tiles are never going to match the old tiles. Not a big deal, really, as far as I'm concerned. Rev has yet to tell us what it is going to cost to repair the pool. We will be responsible for the cost, not the company which DH works for which rents us the house, even though we don't own the pool. Whatever.

What I am not pleased about is the mess it is going to make - of our entire back yard and patio area. There is no way it is going to be a nice, neat, quick one-afternoon fix and repair job. Rev does not work that way. He is spread too thin, here, with all the work he does. For certain things we can find someone else to do the work and conversely, with other things, Rev seems to have a monopoly on - pools being one of those "things." Great. He will show up one afternoon when he had said he'd be here in the morning, start a job, then tell me he'll be back the next day and we won't see him for a week. That the backyard is The Kids play area and "business" area is a big concern. I am incredibly anxious over the pool now NOT having water in it. DH says I'm being overly frantic over nothing. No. I don't think I am.

Not enough that I was worried about The Kids falling in the pool when it had water in it. Now, I'm worried about The Kids falling in the pool while it is empty. It won't be The Baby, either. Nope. It will be The Boy. And he will be hurt. I'm picturing broken legs. Plural. I am very careful about them being out there. I am either out back with them, or I am in the kitchen where I can keep an eye on things at all times. That is their backyard - their play area. One of them is going to run by - too closely to the edge - and wham! It is going to hurt. A lot. I've been taking them out at night separately to do business. At least during the day they can see where the big hole is, but at night - the pool light has been disconnected and "removed," and I'm just concerned for their safety. Their little playmate, Nuffie, hasn't been over to play in the yard because with the three of them there IS going to be an accident. So far, Nuffie is the only one of them that hasn't been in the pool. I would hate to see her get hurt.

The Baby, The Boy, and Nuffie [red collar] playin!

The Baby and Nuffie

The three of them: Nuffie, The Baby, and The Boy

The good thing - if there is something good about having to have your pool completely drained, untiled, repaired, retiled, etc., is that it is too cold to be spending time outside either by or in the pool. Since it has to happen - the work on the pool - better it has to happen now, in January, instead of in June when we are using the pool every day. The pump on the pool broke about two weeks ago - completely broke - and we started letting it drain on its own for the first week. Then we had it manually - with an electric pump - emptied. We have gone a week now with a completely dry pool. Let's just see how long it takes Rev to get his act together and get our pool fixed. We know how long it took him to do the work in the bedroom - six weeks, from start to finish, maybe a little longer. I'm guessing the work on the pool won't be done until sometime in March...

The Shoe is on the Other Foot

We can expect prompt action to this complaint where Saudi workers are complaining of having to work long hours and for payment of overtime. If the workers were from Bangladesh or India, the case would drag on for months years. I have posted time and time and time and time and time again on how workers - the imported workers - are mistreated, be it by unpaid wages, or long hours, or actual physical abuse. The stories are all different and all the same. But, let Saudi workers complain and someone takes notice. Action, too, I'm betting.

There are some differences in this particular complaint, though. The first glaring one being that Arab News has named the company! Companies are almost never named - I know of ONE time, previous to this - and one time only. So, why has the company, Saudia Catering, been named this time?

For starters because 100 Saudi employees "filed a case complaining of discrimination and slave-like work conditions." Hmmm... What about all those other cases? Tell me there wasn't discrimination involved and slave-like work conditions! "In a signed document... employees alleged that the company is violating labor laws and endangering national security by employing overstayers in its operations department - the final line before food and drink are boarded onto aircraft." So what. The company is violating labor laws. Big deal. Companies here violate labor laws. Today is different than any other day, how? It is the way it is, here. And, someone tell me how the overstayers are "endangering national security?" Are you afraid that an overstayer is going to poison the food or coffee? Is that what you mean by "endangering national security?"

Employees are "fed up with the company's illegal activities." And, like I already asked, what about ALL the other companies that engage in somewhat unscrupulous labor activities? We already know the answer to that, though, don't we... The employees "allege problems began two years ago with the appointment of a new unit manager who began shifting Saudis from jobs that met their qualifications to jobs unrelated to their training and education level, such as technicians being moved to manual work." Oh for goodness sakes. Quit 'chur whining. A previous gardener we had, who was trained to be an electrician, was promised a great job in Saudi as an electrician before he left Bangladesh. That great job? He is a gardener.

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the real problem is. The Saudis are upset because "unqualified foreign workers... have been given supervisory positions." There you go. The gist of the problem, right there. One of the Saudi employees [who has not been "named"] says, "Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi previously stated that the Kingdom is not a recruitment agency for foreigners. All our country's jobs must be for our sons and daughters." No one would disagree that the country's jobs should be done by this country's own "sons and daughters," but if we - all of us ex-pats - leave tomorrow to let you have the jobs, this country will immediately come to a screeching halt.

Another employee [who asked not to be named] said, "We don't want all the jobs as stated by the minister, we just want the jobs that are currently reserved by his office for Saudis." Ahh. So you really don't think that ALL the jobs here should be for this country's "sons and daughters," then. What you do think is that if there is a simple desk job, where you can push around some paper and play with your mobile phone for eight hours while receiving the pay of a CEO, then that job should - rightfully or not - be yours. You don't want some job that requires cooking chickenfishlamb stew - actually preparing the product which your company provides. Why didn't you just say so? Now we can begin to "understand" the problem and work toward a solution. No more Saudis will be in the kitchen. They can all sit at desks. How long do you think Saudia Catering will be able to stay in business - as a company that provides a product - food for airplane passenger consumption - if there are only desk jockeys and no cooks?

"The employees also allege their marriages are strained due to being forced to work long shifts, sometimes up to 16 hours a day, and on their days off." Cry me a river. There are a lot of employees in this country who don't even get to see their families after work! They come for two-year stints before they are allowed to go home!!! Oh, and "days off?" The laborers here are lucky that they get ONE DAY off - they don't get "days off!" According to someone [unnamed, of course], "This has created a problem for us in our homes. Our wives are not convinced that we're being forced to constantly work long hours and on our days off and holidays. Some of the guys have even got divorced." Hmm. The comments I so want to make here are just not appropriate. I am going to refrain...

The article says, "The employees are also calling for Saudia Catering to define the nature of their jobs, and offer them fair working hours, appropriate salaries, housing allowances, payment for overtime and other expenses as required under Saudi labor law." If Saudia Catering has to do this, then shouldn't ALL companies be required to do so??? Apparently it is the law... Never mind. "We don't want any special treatment... If any one slacks in performing his duties then it's the company's right to take action." Yeah. Let me be the first to call BS on that! Oh, and good luck to the company for trying to get rid of someone, a "local," for slacking off in performing his duties. Um-hmm...

Another [unnamed] employee says, "We've backed our case with sufficient evidence. We're not going to get tired and back off or slack, as the company wants us to. On the contrary, we're not going to give them what they want." Well okay, then. There you have it. I am not familiar with all of the airlines that Saudia Catering serves, but am making a note to myself right now to make sure I pack my own lunch before I next get on a plane. If Saudia is not going to have cooks in the kitchens anymore then they are not going to have a product to provide - food on airplanes - and we are all going to be very hungry if we board a long flight... It is as simple as that.

Punishment for Alcohol

Authorities don't fool around when it comes to drugs and alcohol. The warnings are loud and clear. Just. Don't. Do. It. The risk of getting caught is just too great. It doesn't seem to stop some people though. I'm sure it is a lucrative business - the amount of money that can be made. And, if there was no demand, there would be no supply, right?

Three [four?] men have been sentenced to prison terms and lashings for "liquor making and distribution and corruption." The article was printed without being edited. I can't tell if there were three our four men involved. One line says, "an Arab and two Africans," and the next says, "the Arab... the other three's..." No matter. Fifteen years in prison between them, and 1,300 lashes is a substantial punishment.

Another Blackmailer Caught

They are a problem. Those pesky camera phones. The situation is just going to get worse. The young men are going to bear the brunt of the abuse - insofar as being arrested. The young women? Nah. Even though they are foolish enough to let themselves be photographed.

Random Sign

I took a picture of this sign when we went to Bahrain the night before last. "Smells Good. Tastes Great." Now there's a no-fail advertising slogan if there ever was one!

Abused Donkeys

I have seen animal abuse on this side of the world. Jordan is bad; Egypt should get the prize for being the worst. The Sandbox, however, wants to put itself in the game and up its ranking. This is pathetic. Someone needs to beat the men that are beating the donkeys. Make those men afraid of uniforms! [Let me do it!!!] I detest and deplore ANY form of animal abuse - whatever the animal. There is no PETA on this side of the world. Nothing even remotely like an animal protection agency. But, then, even on the other side of the world, PETA is pretty much a useless entity with their only purpose being to suck up public funds and push their propaganda, a far-left political agenda.

New Child Discipline Method

A man in Makkah has accused his son of being disobedient. The District Court has sentenced the son to five months in prison and 100 lashes. I don't know what the son did, but I bet he straightens his act out real fast.

There are a lot of "sons" in this part of the world that would benefit from a little discipline. I'm not sure that prison terms and lashings are the best way to go about this, but then... Maybe it isn't such a bad idea, after all!

Pageant for Model Maids

No. There isn't going to be a "beauty" pageant for "model maids." Beauty pageants in this part of the world are reserved for camels and goats. "...in appreciation of the well-mannered housemaids working for Saudi families," the Ministry of Labor is planning a day to honor them. [But what about the ill-mannered maids? They'll be left out...] The idea is that this will reinforce "the principle of honesty among housemaids." [What?!? I guess well-mannered means "honest."]

The Director of Public Relations at the Ministry of Labor, Hatab Al-Anzi, said "the idea emerged from a proposal made by citizens... suggesting that the Kingdom devote a day for model housemaids in order to instill the culture of love and respect in the minds of Saudi families toward their housemaids. ...the gesture would also make housemaids feel that they are dignified, respected and loved by their employers, a matter that would effectively help to change many prevailing attitudes." Yep. Going to make all the difference in the world, isn't it! Another citizen suggested "that mutual respect, standard of performance, good behavior and honesty" should "serve as criteria for selecting the model housemaid." He also suggested "that a valuable gift to [sic] be offered to the model maid and that she be exempted from all household duties on the day as a token of respect and appreciation for the role she plays in the family."

I have a better idea. How about for one day you quit beating your maid, give her a full day off and actually pay her the wages she has worked for? Perhaps something along those lines would work better to change "many prevailing attitudes." Just an idea...

Mobile Phones - Big Problem Here

Is there another country in the world where a mobile phone is such a problem? The problem, as I see it, isn't so much with the actual phone as it is with the owner of the phone. Everyone here has a mobile - and I mean everyone! They are addicted to them. What they did for entertainment or amusement before mobile phones is a mystery. Yes, up until a couple of years ago, mobile camera phones were illegal. Now that they are not - and can you even find a phone that doesn't come with a camera, now? - they are a big problem, here. Blackmail. Lots and lots of abuses of mobile camera phones involving blackmailers.

Beyond the blackmailing issue though is the fact that the mobiles are consuming the time of employees who should be working. Maybe it is just me, but if I was an employer and I was paying someone to work for me for eight hours a day, then I would want them doing just that - working for me - not talking on their mobile. A previous Houseboy and I had issues with this - the houseboy I hired from a service - who spent more time on his mobile than he did cleaning my house. He didn't last long. I've complained at our grocery store that the women there are more interested in chatting and texting than they are with checking out groceries.

Apparently the issue of whether or not teachers should be allowed to use their phones during school hours has become a "hotly debated topic." There doesn't need to be any debate. No one should be allowed to use his or her mobile phone during working hours. If there is an emergency - you know what? You'll find out about it the same way you did before you have a mobile phone. But if teachers are going to be banned from having or using their mobiles, then in the interest of fairness, the ban needs to be applied on a much larger scale.

Why should the guys who sit at the Customs booths be allowed to use their mobiles? Perhaps if they paid a little more attention to their actual job - you know, the work they are being paid to do - then the lines wouldn't get so backed up. The clerks at the grocery stores shouldn't be allowed to be talking and texting. But for our hospital and the medical facilities, on our compound, where somehow mobile phone service is "cut" so that the phones can't be used, I cannot think of a single area or work-place where mobile phones are not in use by those that are being paid to do something else.

Teachers have little to fret about - they won't lose their phones. There will be a lot of talk and that will be it. The issue will be resolved like so many others. It will be swept under the proverbial rug and forgotten in no time. There. Problem solved. Out of sight; out of mind.

Sibling Rivalry

Yep. We have it. The Kids... Not The Boy so much as The Baby. She absolutely cannot - CANNOT - stand it when The Boy gets attention and she's is not smack in the middle of it. "What you're petting Him? But what about meeeeee!!! It is almost comical.

The Boy has to take his pills twice a day - two Benadryl in the morning for his allergies, and two antibiotics for his infected toe [which, by the way, looks like it is clearing up again - I don't want to get my hopes too high]. The Boy is not thrilled about taking his pills. It is not like I can just set them on his table and he'll take them and wash 'em down with a drink of water. Oh, no. If I mix them in his food - like peas - they will remain untouched, nice and clean, in a little pile. If I crush them and mix them in his food - he won't eat his food - he eats his Sister's, and she eats his - only she doesn't have allergies and doesn't need Benadryl, and she doesn't have an infected toe and she doesn't need antibiotics, either.

In order to get The Boy to eat his pills I have him sit, and then two pills at a time I pry his mouth open - he knows - he resists - it is really a "prying" action that is necessary to get his mouth open - and then I stick my entire hand in his mouth, pushing the pills down his throat so he can't easily spit them out. It is not pretty; it is not pleasant; it is not without some "dog slobber." It has to be done. We go through the same routine twice a day - and have gone through the same routine for sometime...

Yesterday morning I was getting The Kids' breakfast ready and pushed The Boy's antibiotics out of the foil-wrapped cellophane package and left them sitting on the counter under the coffee-pot [Spacesaver - it hangs underneath a cupboard]. I don't know exactly what I was doing - but I turned my back for all of a half a minute and dayum... The Baby was scooping them up from the counter! "Oh, my. What a naughty Little Girl. What exactly do you think you are doing Young Lady?" Could I get them from her - the two pills? No. She was happily crunching them like they really are some kind of special treat.

No doubt, every morning - and again, every evening - as she sees The Boy getting some "special" attention, i.e., me sticking my entire hand in his mouth and pushing pills down his throat, and she is thinking along the lines of "How come he always gets the 'special' treats?" They both get a "real" treat after the pill-taking - so she isn't really being left out. I guess, in her mind, she is, though. And do tell me, Pretty Princess, exactly how do those antibiotic pills that you chewed and swallowed taste?!? I'm only guessing that they taste nasty. What pills don't? They didn't seem to phase her at all. Not in the least. I will not make that mistake again. The Baby cannot be trusted with The Boy's pills...

Customs Ball-Busting

DH and I went to Bahrain yesterday afternoon to do some grocery shopping and then to have dinner. We used to go over to Bahrain on a fairly regular basis, but now, not so much. Sitting on the bridge - with far too many uncivilized, disorderly, rude and obnoxious drivers - is just too much to endure sometimes. Thankfully we left early enough yesterday afternoon - before the "out of work" crowd headed that direction - so that our trip over was quick and easy. Forty-five minutes from our driveway to the grocery store. No lines. No uncivilized, disorderly, rude and obnoxious drivers on the trip over. Nice.

We went to the grocery store where I found baby-sized jars of Miracle Whip [oh, happy day!], got some dark bread - bread is an issue for me - I like dark, heavy bread like Pumpernickel and dark Rye which is almost impossible to find, here. We bought canned potatoes, too! For whatever reason they have been missing from the grocery store shelves on this side of the world for sometime, now. The store only had ONE bag of Schmackos - a treat that The Boy luvs [he is fussy about his treats whereas The Baby will eat everything and anything] - and we got those. The real reason we were at this particular store though is pork. Lots of pork. Yesterday's purchases included 12 pounds of bacon, two packages of boneless pork chops and two boneless pork roasts, two Kielbasa's, four boxes of sausages, and six packages of Hot Links. So, umm, yeah. We bought pork. Lots of it.

Our truck has a plug-in cooler that we take over with us when we're going grocery shopping. Not like we really needed it yesterday, because it was pretty cool out, but when you're buying that much - or spending that much - no sense risking it not staying cold. I unloaded the bags and got it all in the cooler. DH and I then headed to Trader Vic's to have a couple of cocktails before we went out to dinner.

This pisses me off: Men dressed in their religious garb who are sitting in the bar swilling beer and cocktails! I've posted on this before. You preach this holier than thou crap and refuse to drive a passenger in your taxi cab if that passenger is carrying a bottle of booze but you have no qualms about sitting in a bar drinking an entire bottle of wine. Yep. One table over from us sat a middle-aged man dressed in his white thobe and a white ghutra fondling his prayer beads all the while he was drinking an entire bottle of wine. Yes. He had a bottle of wine on his table; not just a glass.

I had my back to the guy and it is probably for the best that I did. It would have been most difficult for me to be able to face him without giving him the "evil eye" look of disgust. DH said that the man kept looking over at us with a rather "inviting" look as if to say, "I'm sitting here alone. Why don't you come and join me." Fat chance of that happening. Ever. Oh, and by the way, you DO NOT want me joining you in a situation like. Just trust me. You don't. I have, on more than one occasion, confronted men and asked them if they don't feel like complete and utter hypocrites when such a big deal is make of the fact that their religion does not permit them to drink. Then just don't do it. Simple. Either you can - or you can't - but you can't have it both ways. It is no secret why so many carloads of men head to Bahrain on a daily / nightly basis. And it is no secret that the bars in Bahrain are exactly where many of those men are headed. [I'll take a picture of the parking lot next time we're there - it will be full of Saudi license plates.]

We left Trader Vic's and headed for the restaurant. There, we enjoyed a most enjoyable evening as we were "uninvited" guests at a going away party. Uninvited in that we didn't know that the restaurant was hosting a going away party where forty people would be. I'm not going to go into detail, here, on that. It was personal for them - the people at the going away party - and it became personal for us, mostly me, too. All I'll say about it is THANK YOU!

It was not a late night for us. DH had to work this morning. And, we wanted to beat the traffic heading back from Bahrain to Saudi. You do not want to be getting to the Causeway at ten or eleven o'clock when it becomes very, very busy. We got there about nine. Not much traffic - and only two lines open - so it was a five, maybe ten minute wait. Reasonable.

What was NOT reasonable though, was the search of our car. We have had several friends tell us that they had a hard time bringing back certain meat products - quite a few had meat products confiscated and disposed of - over the Holiday's this year at the border - Customs. Partly due to the fact that Christmas fell during the same time as Eid. My understanding is that there is no law which says that you cannot have pork, here. The religion which is practiced here, however, forbids its followers to consume pork [it forbids them from consuming alcohol, too, but that doesn't seem to stop them]. I'd be interested to find out exactly where it says that you cannot have pork, here, if there is in fact such a law.

We pulled into our "slot" at Customs and a young Saudi immediately demanded that we open the back of the truck. No problem. Go ahead and look at whatever you want. Don't you know, the first thing he pulled out of our cooler was the Hot Links. "Ahh. Pork. Problem." DH said, "No. Beef." The package clearly says both:

DH and the Custom's guy went back and forth for a couple of minutes. I was sitting in the front seat thinking, "Oh, this is so not good. They are going to take $100.00 worth of bacon away from us and put it in the trash! Nope. Not good."

The Custom's guy had to go get another guy - who had to get another guy - and all of the sudden there were three of them going through every item we purchased and pulling the seats up in the back of our truck [it is a Tahoe - I call it a truck]. I remained in the front seat and one of them grabbed a box that was on the floor under the driver's seat from the back and said, "What is this?" I don't know what it is. No clue. I say, "It is tools." He instructs me to open it. I did. Phew. Completely innocuous. It is the headphones that go to the television screen for passengers in the back seat. I knew we weren't smuggling "real" contraband into the country - just bacon and sausage and pork chops and roasts... I mean, come on. It's not like we had a case of beer or several fifths of vodka. We're not stupid!

DH and two of the Custom's guys continued to argue over whether or not we should be allowed to continue with our cooler full of pork products - each of the Custom's guys taking time to thoroughly examine each item - even the ones wrapped in plain brown paper. They knew what was in those packages.

Even though the labels said "veal" and "turkey," and DH insisted they contained "fish" [what made YOU say FISH when they asked what was in them???] the Custom's guys continued to fondle our "meat" and talk amongst themselves to decide what to do. Finally they decided that we could have our "stuff" but we were told, "Do not bring pork again." Okay. We won't. Not until the next time. It is a risk. Others we know have had their pork taken and disposed of. Well, we can assume it is disposed of. Who knows? Perhaps they all divvy up the confiscated pork and then take it home and eat it. Hey, they consume alcohol. Stranger things could happen...

As we were pulling away, DH and I were chuckling over the whole debacle. The Custom's guys could have chosen to be pretty nasty about the whole think and ticked our passports in the system so that our car gets searched each and every time we cross the border - and they could have taken all of the "meat" away from us. They did neither. They just wanted to, according to DH, "bust his balls." They did. Yes. It was all a bit disconcerting and unnerving. Not to mention the fact that I completely forgot we had four - FOUR - bottles of real Vanilla flavoring, which contain alcohol. I had put them in my pocket book so that they wouldn't be in the bags if they were searched - so yes, I guess in a way I was "hiding" them - but if we would have been asked - we would have let the guys go through my bag as well. [Heh. Good luck finding anything in there. If you come across my lip gloss... I know it's in there...] Thankfully they didn't ask. I have no idea how much trouble we would have been in for bringing in real Vanilla that contains alcohol. Minimal alcohol, but alcohol, nonetheless.

This morning I took everything out of the refrigerator and either unwrapped - to rewrap - it or to wrap it for freezing. DH was a happy man and The Kids were happy Kids because I made them all bacon and eggs for breakfast. DH will be a happy man and The Kids will be happy Kids when I make pork chops for dinner one night this week. I won't eat it - but DH and The Kids will!

Good to have aspirations...

When I grow up, I want to be an executioner. What kind of aspiration is that?!? What kind of person actually wakes up one day and decides that that is what he wants to be? An executioner! Difficult to even fathom. And, now, the man wants for his son to be an executioner due to his "disposition." What?!?

The article is here. It tells all about the man's life... His name is Zamil. Zamil turned a hobby of hunting birds into his "profession." Zamil has an elementary school education along with "sword training." Zamil, apparently has no problem performing his duties and will execute whoever he is assigned to execute - men, women - and says, "I fire bullets at the heart from the back of the criminal to make sure he or she dies quickly without prolonging the pain. I have executed two women..." The article says that, "While the traditional form of execution in the Kingdom is public beheading, other forms of capital punishment are permitted..." Death by hanging or by electric chairs is not permitted as they may prolong the agony and pain.

How many executioner's are there in The Sandbox? I have no idea. Zamil isn't the only one. There were 102 executions - beheadings - last year. We've only had two so far in 2009. Zamil says the job is only "part-time" and he still works at his "full-time" job. Zamil gets paid 4,000 riyals [$1,072.38] for each execution. Not bad for only a few minutes work.

I did a post shortly after I started this blog, "Heads Will Roll" that tells the story of Abdullah Sa'id Al-Bishi and how he inherited the job of being an executioner from his father.

"Saudis are arrogant and racist."

Ut-uh. I didn't say it. He said it. And, according to an Arab News survey [which I haven't seen], "The majority of Saudis and non-Saudis agree with Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi's statement." The article is worth reading.

Mr. Al-Gosaibi, who has been criticized by some for his comments says, "It is disappointing that we have been infiltrated by some arrogance and even more racism. We have started to picture ourselves better than those who come to participate with us in our development."

Interesting...

300 Traffic Violations

300! Just process that for a second. 300!!! And the man is still allowed on the roads. Incredible. Even if it did take him ten years to rack those violations up - that is still ten a year - almost one a month! And, yet, he is allowed to remain in possession of a driver's license. [If an ex-pat had just a mere portion of those tickets, he'd be sitting in jail.] Road carnage will continue, unabated, here for a long, long time. His fines were $12,064.34 [45,000 riyals]. No deterrent. The man, of course, is unidentified. Wouldn't want to be shaming or stigmatizing anyone now, would we?!? The assistant to the director of the Traffic Department, Col. Hanash Al-Shihri says this, "the citizen... had to pay the entire amount of the fines before he could renew his tags... There is no way any of the violations will be canceled." Not only was the man who racked up 300 violations and $12,064.34 in fines not identified, but the "nature of the violations" were not specified, either. Best line in the article: "Considering the driving culture in Saudi Arabia - which can resemble scenes from the 1979 post-apocalyptic car dueling thriller, 'Mad Max.'" Understatement. That.

Vicious Vacuum Cleaner Attacks Maid

Yep. That's probably exactly what happened...

Another maid is in the hospital after the "housewife" she worked for beat her with a vacuum cleaner. That's what the article says. Will the housewife who beat the maid be charged with assault? Will she be punished in the form of being blacklisted so that she can no longer hire domestic help? Will she be forced to take any responsibility for beating the maid severely enough to put her in the hospital? What do you think?!?

In the end, it will be the same story that it always is. "The maid tripped over the vacuum cleaner and hit her head on the marble fireplace mantle." Or some other ridiculous version of "the story" which will absolve the housewife and put all of the blame on the maid who will then be accused of falsely reporting the story, thrown in jail and then deported...

Nafeek Case Remains Unresolved

The poor unfortunate woman - who was little more than a "girl" when she rode a magic carpet to The Sandbox to be a housemaid and became an instant nanny for a family's nine or ten children - remains incarcerated. Her case has been dragging through what I [usually] refer to as a swift justice system for several years, now. I've posted about her situation here, here, and here.

Yesterday there was a court hearing and none of the witnesses bothered to show up. I have no idea how the "system" works, here, in that regard. Are notices sent out? Goodness I hope not. The postal system in this part of the world leaves much to be desired. Much. Do court officials or police officers serve subpoenas? No clue. Do not even know if they use "subpoenas" in this country. E-mail? Carrier pigeon? Probably text messaging; a widely used and acceptably recognized method of communicating, here.

I wasn't there - apparently no one was for Nafeek - so no one really knows what happened, except Nafeek, who signed a confession in a language she could neither read or understand. Some of the facts are quite clear, however. The recruiting agency forged her documents so that she could obtain employment as a housemaid in The Sandbox even though she was underage and it was illegal for her to come here when she did. The family that hired her, hired her to be a housemaid and turned her into a housemaid AND nanny for their horde of children.

Just the way this case continues to play out - and this pure speculation on my part - says that something else is happening. Someone has somebody fairly prominent and up there on the food chain for this matter to continue with no resolution in sight. Do I think that there are mitigating circumstances in this case that should absolve Nafeek of at least part of the alleged "wrongdoing?" Yes, I do. Do I think that there was actually a crime committed? No. I do not. I believe that the death of the baby was an unfortunate accident and could have just as easily have happened at the hands of the baby's mother - who, must have been shopping or chatting on her mobile - she was, obviously, too busy to be bothered feeding her own baby. Do I think that eventually ALL of the other RESPONSIBLE parties will be forced to accept their own actions in this matter? Not a chance of that happening. No way.

Our Four-Legged Baby Boy

[Tell me how comfortable this looks!]

Poor little guy, our Great Dane, The Boy. Not enough that he didn't have a really, really bad start due to the negligence of some f^(ktard in North Carolina, who didn't give a crap about the dogs in his possession that he mated. [The horrific story of The Boy's Father, Handsome, is here. Handsome and the beautiful Angel who rescued him, along with the "Mother" and puppies, is here.] The Boy weighed all of five pounds when we adopted him at eight-weeks-old; a Great Dane should weight between sixteen to twenty pounds at that age. It was sad. Very sad. And beyond me how someone - anyone - can treat ANY animal so barbarically and cruelly. I still cry over the whole ordeal. How it was that I ended up being in the right place at the right time to adopt one of the puppies is a story for another day.

The Boy has had "dust allergies" since we moved to The Sandbox. Great. Couldn't have grass allergies, or be allergic to peanuts. Nope. He's allergic to dust! We have the allergies under control - Benadryl. About eight months ago he injured a toenail. Yes. Toenail. We have had quite a time trying to clear the situation up and have tried about everything in order to get the infection under control. The vet says that if we can't clear the infection up after this course of antibiotics that The Boy is on - and will be on for three months - then the toe will need to be removed. I have no idea how he injured his toenail to begin with. I am thankful that I am always "hands all over The Kids all the time" that I even noticed the toe when it was pink - before it was red and swollen. [If I could just get him to stop licking his toe, it would be a big help. Easier said than done. Yes. We've done the Elizabethan collar. Yes. I've tied a knee-sock on it at night. The toe clears up and then it gets "annoyed" again, and we're back to infection.] According to the vet, four-legged-kids use their two middle toes for weight and balance so he tells me that The Boy won't even miss it. Okay. Fine. An amputated toe is the least of our concerns versus staph infection or something else equally horrible. Apparently that's not quite enough for The Boy to have to deal with. Allergies and a "bad toe."

I was hugging and petting The Boy and noticed a "lump" on his chest and, of course, immediately took him to the vet. Thinking the worst. After all, what can a "lump" possibly be or mean?!? It came as quite a surprise to find out that the "lump" and surrounding infection - edema - beneath his fur was from a bite. Not a bug bite, either. I'm blaming The Baby. I think I'm pretty sure when it happened, too. Trust me, if there would have been blood during the particular incident - we'd have been at the vet's office in minutes. There was no blood. I'll post on that later. It needs a photo-explanation. Anyway, since The Boy is already on antibiotics for his bad toe, the vet said, "Lets give it a few days, the swelling will go down, but let's check it out again in a week. It is a nice round, smooth lump. I don't think you have anything to worry about." Fine.

Today I took The Boy back to the vet. We've been there once a week since I returned to The Sandbox from the States. The Boy luvs his car rides! The disappointment that our car ride destination is to the vet is clearly evident as soon as we arrive. Poor little guy... I always go into the office to see how many other "four-legged-Kids" are in the waiting room before I bring The Boy in. Only one other "furry child" was there with her [his?] clearly Saudi parents this morning. [The woman was covered head-to-toe in black, the man with a red and white head covering and white thobe - brushing his teeth as he sat on the couch waiting.] Their "furry child" was a fluffy cream colored long-haired cat in a small carrying-crate. Both of them - and their "child" - were a bit taken back at the size of The Boy coming into the waiting room. Their "furry child" backed up in its little crate and started doing "the hissing thing." What none of the three of them understood is that The Boy is more afraid of them and to be there - at the vet's office - than they could possibly be afraid of him, The Boy.

Pitiful. It really is. This big, huge [but on the small side, for a Great Dane] four-legged-Kid, just trembling. Trembling! Tail down his butt and between his legs as tightly as possible. Ears back and flat to the head. Visibly shaking. Pulling me toward the door to leave the entire time we are there - whether in the waiting room or in one of the examining rooms. "Okay. We came. Said 'hello.' I'm ready to leave. Now!" Honestly, I'm afraid that if a "lump" that is benign, an infected toe that we can't get cleared up, and allergies don't do it, the poor little guy is going to have a heart attack. It is that bad - our trips to the vet. Nothing bad has ever happened to him - but for during his "infancy" - and The Boy's life has been nothing but the best we can possibly give him and more, since then. Love. Lots and lots and lots of love. Attention. As much as he wants - and probably more than he wants. Special food - which I either make or get from The Honest Kitchen. Toys. A crate with soft flannel cushions and side padding. The bed - or couches - to sleep on - his choice. Walks and play time. [Yeah. So, okay. Perhaps he didn't really want a Little Sister as much as I thought he would like having one, but, hey... Not all Kids can be an only child, right? And The Baby - as far as Little Sister's goes - is a good Little Sister. She adores him! She worships the ground he walks on! The bite? Yeah. I'll post on that.] Anything and everything for The Boy. Is he spoiled? Perhaps in the eyes of some. Not to me. You cannot spoil a child -two or four-legged - with too much love and attention. But the fear - the panic - that The Boy experiences and endures for a quick, five-minute follow-up visit at the vet's. Oh my gosh!!! A big baby. Really, he is.

No. Can't possibly be true!

Because this kind of thing just doesn't happen, here. Yeah. Right. It probably has been happening for eons. Just because you think you are the most religious country in the world, doesn't make you immune from societies woes. Sexual abuse of children knows no boundaries. The reason that we are seeing more about this in the news though has to do with the fact that Saudi Arabia is not the totally and thoroughly closed and confined society it used to be just a few short years ago. Computers and 24-hour-round-the-clock news outlets have changed that.

The game itself certainly has changed, here, though. It was only within the last couple of years that camera cell phones were allowed; they were illegal until 2004 or 2005. Camera phones are proving to be a real bane in the side of this society and culture, aren't they?!? All these "blackmail" cases that we read about in the newspapers everyday speak volumes, if you ask me.

Has anyone ever, for just a skinny second, considered that perhaps if there were less restriction on the mixing of sexes that some of the problems that exist here might not? Just a thought...

My One and Only...

...two-legged child, my Son, turns 28 today at 3:48P. How the heck did that happen?!? Man oh man has time flown by! I guess I was but a mere child myself when I had my son - because in my mind I am only 29 and that makes me just a year older than him, now. Interesting. Next year we will be the same age.

Happy Birthday, Aarick Rayne!

Unsafe Shampoo off the Shelves

So glad someone is looking out for us. Eight shampoos that contain "dioxine substances" that might cause cancer will no longer be on the shelves. Customs has been told to stop clearing them. [Has Customs also been told to stop clearing canned potatoes, Velveeta cheese, crab meat, Miracle Whip and English muffins? And, if so, why???]

What is "newsworthy" about the shampoo is the fact that there are virtually no guidelines, here, in The Sandbox, for so many things. Air quality control? What is that?!? No Environmental Protection Agency... And, yet, shampoos that contain a cancer-causing chemical are removed with haste and urgency.

New Head Count

I can't be one hundred percent certain on this, but I think the total for beheadings in The Sandbox for 2008 was 100 or 101. Down from the previous year's 130-something.

Two beheadings took place yesterday.

Rose Sellers Arrested. 114 of Them.

Who knows why?!? The report doesn't say. Apparently giving roses on New Year's Eve is a bad thing though. I don't think it can be blamed on "Westerners." I've never heard of the tradition, if it is one, of giving red roses on New Year's Eve. 114 rose sellers were arrested. Must have been a pretty busy night! I'm sure we will all feel much safer, now, with the rose seller's off the streets...

This guy is in deep poo-poo. Not for lack of creativity, though. Wonder what kind of money he could expect to make by selling 3,555 bottles... The mark up is pretty steep, here. No. Correction. Very steep.

It amazes me that with such hefty penalties and punishments that people continue to try to smuggle drugs into The Sandbox. In a country where the "welcome" sign says, "Drug smugglers will be executed" it just doesn't seem like it would be worth the risk. Apparently it is, though. There must be a demand...

I'm Pretty Sure I Don't Want to Know...

...what desert dog hunting is. It just does NOT sound good. I can handle the camel races. The medicinal plants exhibit. The festivity of date consumption. Okay. I made that last one up. But what a great idea!!! How many dates can you put in your mouth at a time before you gag and choke? However, the fun needs to end with "desert dog hunting." I'd be willing to wager a guess that it isn't much fun, at all, for the poor dogs. It just sounds barbaric. Oh. Wait...

You Can Kiss Your Life Savings Good-bye

There is a short little blurb in one of our papers, today, about a Nigerian woman who was arrested for trying to smuggle 100,000 riyals [$26,809.65]. Whether the money was hers or not, the article doesn't say. Was she a maid who had worked in The Sandbox for decades and was going home with her life savings? Perhaps. Maybe she'd worked here for twenty years and was lucky to have been employed with a family that actually paid her. There are few details in the article. Regardless, she was caught trying to leave without declaring the money and apparently if you have over 60,000 riyals in cash or jewelry you have to declare it before you leave The Sandbox so that you do not have to pay customs on it when you return. I had no idea... But then, I rarely travel with more than a few riyals on me - I carry plastic; I don't wear jewelry but for my wedding ring. Will the woman be allowed to continue on her journey - wherever she was headed - and will she be allowed to keep the money, if it was hers?

Marriage Ban on Children Underage Girls

The National Society for Human Rights [NSHR] is stepping into the fray and is going to recommend "to the higher authorities a ban on marriages of underaged [sic] girls; the society will seek to fix 15 years at the minimum marriageable age for girls." Good news. We will have to wait and see whether or not anything becomes of this, though. "...the move was based on several court rulings on cases of underage girls married to men tens of years older than them, which have aroused debate in society." You mean debate around the world!

Interesting Report

Whether the report done by the National Society for Human Rights [NSHR] will stand on its own, remains to be seen. Every time one of these reports is done its findings are disputed for weeks. I'll try to keep on top of it and post the arguments that follow once the report is released in two weeks.

Is $7.64 too much?

Can someone do me a favor, please? The next time you go to the grocery store check out the price of Morning Star sausage patties. I am just curious what they cost.

I paid 28.50 riyals for a box of SIX little "veggie" sausage patties [8 ounces]. That comes out to $1.27 each. It just seems like a lot. Maybe that is what they cost in the States, too. I don't know. I won't stop buying them - I like them - and I don't eat meat - but I didn't realize how much I was paying for them until I opened a box to make for breakfast yesterday.

Morning Star makes the best veggie "hamburgers," and they cost 25 riyals [$6.70] for a box of four, which weighs 9 ounces. How much are they in the States?

My goodness. I'm paying more for non-meat that I am for meat. Well, with the exception of the rib roast I bought to make for Christmas Dinner.

Food is expensive, here. I know I tend to buy a lot of "American" products and we pay top dollar for them. That is what we have to pay and it is all part of the cost of living in The Sandbox. We just deal with it. There are many products, here, which cost a lot less than what they would cost in the States, though. A bag of bread - four big round slices of flat Arabic-style bread cost 3 riyals [.80] and that is four days of lunch, for me. I put some Italian salad dressing on the bread, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on it and then put a half a bag of "salad" on it. Roll it up and yum! Milk is inexpensive, here. As is soda - Diet Coke and Diet 7-up are only $6.43 a case [why those "American" products are so inexpensive is beyond me - it is actually bottled over here, though, so it doesn't have to be shipped over]. I digress...

Anyway, the next time someone goes to the grocery store... If you could check out the price of Morning Star sausage patties and let me know, I'd appreciate it.

Nothing to see, here, folks. Move along...

Just a housemaid getting ready to jump from a fourth floor balcony to end her life because she just can't take the physical abuse from her sponsor [employer] anymore. That her body is covered in bruises is absolutely no proof whatsoever that any abuse took place. She probably dropped a bookcase on herself while she was dusting. Or something like that. The maid works for an 80-year-old woman and that woman's two 50-year-old and 35-year-old daughters. The women are being questioned by officers. Expect resolution of the matter, immediately, with no wrong-doing having been done by the old woman or her two old maid daughters.

And, by the way. You are 50 and 35 years old and still live at home with your mother? Why aren't you married?!? And why aren't you at least helping out in the household? [There's a 58-year-old man out there that is looking for more wives. You two are probably too old for his taste, though.]

Remember that little 8-year-old?

The little EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl that her "father" [and I use the term "father" in the loosest possible sense of the word] married off to a man 50 YEARS HER SENIOR??? She is still married with no "divorce" in sight. Thankfully, her mother does seem to have her wits about her and is seeking help from the HRC [Human Rights Commission].

The child's lawyer, Abdullah Al-Jutaili, wasn't satisfied with the court ruling and plans to appeal the case. He said "annulling the marriage was necessary because the husband could take the girl from school if he wished without anyone being able to object." What??? Oh my gosh! Oh, wait. What about the verbal agreement he made that he would not consummate the marriage until the girl turns 18? Yeah.

My goodness. This little girl should be going to school and playing dolls with her friends. I cannot fathom the psychological impact this will have on her if she is all of the sudden taken from her mother and school to be a wife to a man old enough to be her grandfather. She cannot possibly have any idea of what is in store for her in the very near future.

The man that donated his sperm to fertilize an egg sold his child for 30,000 riyals. $8,042.89! What kind of man can call himself a father when he does something so ludicrous?!? It is vile. He should be hanging his head in shame.

Apparently the court has stated that "an appeal for annulling the marriage could only be filed by the girl when she reaches puberty." What kind of ruling is that? Why isn't the court protecting the little girl?!? A member of the National Society for Human Rights, Suhaila Zain Al-Abidin, "questioned the decision by asking what condition the girl would be in if she was to reach puberty at the age of 9 or 10... A girl of her age cannot use her money freely, let alone take [sic] such a major decision. It is not logical by all means." No. Damn skippy it isn't. But then, sometimes The Sandbox truly is a "L F Z." [Logic Free Zone.]

How did I miss this!?!

I spend more time at the computer than I probably should. The list of blogs that I visit gets longer and longer every day. Reading one just leads to another which leads to another and before you know it, ten minutes has turned into an hour! I have the "favorites" that I head to first - and often - and others that I visit not as regularly. I used to read Little Green Footballs on a daily or at least regular basis; not so much now, for no particular reason. Charles posted this, "Saudi Columnist Calls for Abolishing Saudi Religious Police." The columnist was writing for Al-Jazirah. Apparently he was fired, although the article doesn't exactly say that. His columns are no longer being published. Yeah. Go figure.

Slavery Is Back

I might just be able to have a houseboygirl in the States when we finally move back, after all! On a serious note, this is NOT acceptable. Not at all.

It is going to be one heck of a wake up call, though, for me, when we are again living in the States and I don't have someone coming every day to vacuum, dust, clean bathrooms, wash floors... When we first moved here, DH said "We don't need a houseboy." We didn't have one for the first three months that we were here. A young man who got our name and telephone number from a friend kept calling and asking if we needed his services. I said yes. And, although I have had a difficult time keeping houseboys - because I am far too particular and fussy - it is a part of the lifestyle that I know I am going to miss after we leave.

HB1613, Inam, has been back with us for two months now. He is doing a fabulous job. He is slow. Very slow. But he does do a really good job with the tasks that I assign him. I was sure that by paying him a monthly salary versus hourly he would pick his pace up to get his work done in a more timely manner. I was wrong. It is taking him even longer. His choice. I have decided that if he continues doing the work like he has been doing it that I will give him a raise after six months. He will never want to leave!

On the bright side, for him, I pay him at the end of the month - on time. I don't raise my voice or yell at him. I don't beat him with a mop or broom. And, he is not "locked up" in our garage without food or water or any light. I think that, even though the job of being a "houseboy" is certainly not one that anyone would aspire to be whilst growing up, it is a desired position in the "big picture" for many men on this side of the world. It certainly beats being outside laboring and toiling in the heat and sun of the long summer months, here.

Another Beheading

A Saudi man was beheaded Monday "after being convicted of killing his mother and brother." It is the bottom story, here. Scroll down.

That makes 101 for a total this year with two days left in 2008.

Saudi justice is swift and to the point. [Ha! No pun intended. Sure.] No lingering around in jail cells eating up taxpayer dollars, here. No appellate lawyers. No last minute "stays." Courts don't dilly dally around. There was a crime. You committed it. You will be executed tomorrow.

"Madinah sex den raided..."

And, a headline that you just couldn't make up... "Madinah sex den raided, suspect arrested in act." Along with news that you just can't make up. It is comical. Really, it just is.

"The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested an Arab expatriate on charges of having illegal relations with a young girl in a mobile shop... Officials did not mention the girl's age but reported that she had left her 'school bag' on a table not far from where she and the man - also of unreported age - were found engaging in sexual relations."

"The commission said that the shop run by the man was under observation following several complaints from local residents that they suspected the shop was a front for immoral activities... On Sunday, commission members entered the shop a little after a girl student went inside. The members could not see anyone inside though they saw the school bag. On closer examination they discovered a hidden doorway that led to a bedroom where the man and the girl were discovered... it found evidence the man was recording his sex encounters and possibly using the digital images for blackmail..."

Somebody is in a heap of trouble... That kind of thing just doesn't go over well, here. "...the commission members handed over the suspect to police for further investigation." Expect a confession - any confession - to any crime - in the short term.