Searching for a Pattern

I want a new sweater pattern to knit. [Thanks, Warrior Knitter!] I've made two sweaters in the past six months. A pretty purple one for The Baby [her favorite color] and a really nice beige one for two-legged Dear Son. I have yarn to make The Boy a green sweater [his favorite color ] but have to figure out how to enlarge the pattern - really, really enlarge it - before I start knitting it. I will make one for DH as well, but need to be able to find the right yarn. He doesn't wear wool. At all. So I will have to find just the right cotton yarn for his sweater. A couple days ago I was searching for a wrap-around sweater pattern - has to be fairly easy - no intricate cabling or stuff like that - and I want it to be long - knee length or longer. Found a site that has free patterns, and didn't find the sweater I want to make for myself, but found this [I should have known better than to click - the name of the sweater, alone, said it all - what was I thinking?!?]. I'm not posting it on my blog. It is just too absolutely f'ng hideous to grace these pages, here. Warning: Click at your own risk. It will hurt your eyes. I want to know what kind of person would wear it! Never mind. No. I don't either. But then I found a joke at UrbanGrounds which made me laugh - and who doesn't feel good after a laugh!

*Little Johnny Meets Barack Hussein Obama*

Barack Hussein Obama was visiting a primary school and he visited one of the classes. They were in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asked the president if he would like to lead the discussion on the word ‘tragedy.’ So our illustrious president asked the class for an example of a ‘tragedy.’

One little boy stood up and offered: ‘If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills him, that would be a tragedy.’

‘No,’ said Obama, ‘that would be an accident.’

A little girl raised her hand: ‘If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy.’

‘I’m afraid not,’ explained Obama. ‘That’s what we would call great loss.’

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Obama searched the room. ‘Isn’t there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?’

Finally at the back of the room, Little Johnny raised his hand. In a quiet voice he said: ‘If the plane carrying you and Mrs. Obama was struck by a ‘friendly fire’ missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy.’

‘Fantastic!’ exclaimed Obama. ‘That’s right. And can you tell me why that would be tragedy?’

‘Well,’ says the boy, ‘It has to be a tragedy, because it certainly wouldn’t be a great loss…and it probably wouldn’t be an accident either.’

Thank you, Robbie Cooper.

Ah ha! Found one. I can make it knee length. Looks easy enough for a beginning knitter. [Have to knit if I am sitting. Cannot just sit and watch tv at night - drives me crazy - and am trying to read and knit at the same time, as well. My Mom can do it. Others can. Surely, I can.]

Head Count is 32

Total so far this year. Five were beheaded yesterday; four Saudis and one Chadian. Their crimes? "Abducting children and raping them." I'd say they all deserved what they got if they were abducting children and raping them. [Marrying an 8 or 10 year old little girls, apparently, doesn't qualify as child abduction or rape?] 102 were executed in 2008.

Men selling women's underwear is still in the news and still a dilemma, here. NPR finally caught up with that news yesterday - just a bit behind the curve [what else would you expect from a left-leaning, publicly funded radio station?]. If you have 4 minutes and 43 seconds of your life that you want to waste have a listen, here. Or, you can take my word for it - that it isn't worth listening to. Whoever is doing the reporting, Kelly Mc-somthingorother, isn't able to tell you anything that hasn't already been told on this blog - the Facebook campaign to boycott lingerie stores, blah, blah, blah. One of the comments left there was, "This is outragious [sic] men selling women's underwears [sic] to women. Of course, women are embarassed [sic]. But King Abdullah - is he not Bush's father [sic] best friend? I wonder if Laura and Barbara Bush would go in those stores to be served by men.... This is a ridiculous law." Psst! Get off the Bush-wagon. He isn't our President any longer. He was replaced by the jug-earred-jack-ass that YOU voted for. You know. The one who bowed to King Abdullah! [How do I know the commenter voted for jeja? Look at her spelling. Clearly uneducated. 'Nuff said.]

Alarming! "Number of spinsters on the rise." There are "around 1.5 million" unmarried women "above the age of 30." Oh my goodness... Hmmphf. Who would have guessed... What happened? How come there are so many unmarried women? Their fathers couldn't get someone to pay dowry money for them when they were - oh, say - eight and ten years old? Is that the problem? A 2007 survey "showed Saudi girls at the age of 15 and above who have not been married constitute 32.1 percent of the entire women population while the remaining proportions represented married women, divorced women and widows. Statistics show that there are 100 women for ever 102 men in the Kingdom proving that the Saudi society is more balanced than other societies." Yeah. Who would want an old fifteen-year-old? Interesting comment about being "more balanced than other societies." Really??? "More balanced?" Guess that is open to interpretation.

"Poor pay, workload cause of brain drain..." Yep. That is what it says for this article. Personally, if I was a judge I would be a little offended that it was phrased that way, but then, when a judge, here, can get away with saying it is okay to slap your wife's face... "A leading Saudi jurist has said many judges seek jobs in other countries because of the volume of work and poor salary in the Saudi court system." There are less than 900 judges, here. This country is what - the size of Texas? Land-wise. What is the population? How is it that there are so many cases that need to go before judges when the laws are so strict? [ And, oh my gosh, what is the "American Academy for Shariah Scholars?" When did America start practicing shariah law?!? Read the article.] Muhammad Al-Nujaimi says, "Judges are offered high salaries in foreign countries." Interesting that you can just go off and be a judge in another country - don't you have to pass some sort of bar exam in that country first? He goes on to say that "society should take a firm stand against family violence." How about taking a good look at the judge who said it is okay to slap your wife? That would be a good start. Would it not?

And, speaking of the judge who said it is okay to slap your wife in the face... Not a single letter to the editor in today's paper offering any protest.

Read This and Weep

[Mom - Do NOT read this post. Bad language used.]

I'm posting the links. I can't post the story, or the photos. I've been in tears over this for two days. It makes me physically ill. And, it makes me want to hunt down the barbarians sickfuckingbastards who did this to poor, innocent dogs, and go beyond "postal" on them. Beyond postal! Far far far beyond!!! You just can't even imagine what I want to do to whoever did this, but it would be safe to assume that it would be a long, slow, torturous and excruciatingly painful demise... I would make sure that the descendants of these sickfuckingbastards would be feeling their pain for generations to come.

Saw it first at Sweetness & Light, and then, again, at BelchSpeak.

NOT FOR DOG OR ANIMAL LOVERS! You've been warned.

Now, tell me again how "kind" and "peaceful" these people are.

Judge Says Slap Your Wife On the Face

He said what?!! Oh my gosh. No. He didn't. Yes. He did. Although, I guess, anyone who has an internet connection has heard this kind of thing, from this side of the world, before... "A Jeddah court judge's approval of husbands slapping their wives on the face if they spend money lavishly on unnecessary things triggered a hue and cry during a seminar on domestic violence..." He said it at a seminar on domestic violence! [Is he still a judge at that court?] Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. [Well, okay. No, it isn't. But still!] Here's what he said: "If a person gives SR1,200 to his wife and she spends SR900 to purchase an abaya (the black gown) from a brand shop and if her husband slaps her on the face as a reaction to her action, she deserves that punishment." How about removing the requirement to wear "the black gown" and you won't have to worry about anyone spending SR900? [I paid SR90 for mine; you can buy them for a lot less than SR900!] The judge's comment "evoked an immediate reaction from the women in the audience who loudly protested." Gee. 'Ya think? The same judge "also pointed out that women's indecent behavior and use of offensive words against their husbands were some of the reasons for domestic violence in the country." Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

Empowered? Nope. Exasperated!

Through no choice of her own...

I missed this last week - surely I would have commented on it if I had seen it when it was published.

There is a woman, Alia Banaja, who was born, raised and educated in The Sandbox. She established an IT business run exclusively by women in what is world-wide a predominantly male-dominated industry but even more so, here. [What isn't male-dominated in this part of the world?] Apparently she formed a medium-sized company and has done quite a bit of work for some relatively large clients, including King Faisal Specialist Hospital. Alia's company was called "2 The Point."

Unfortunately for Alia - and many other businesswomen in Saudi - she had a problem. "Saudi commercial law... required her to appoint a male legal agent to conduct her affairs with various organizations." Why? Simple. "Women were not expected to deal with our bureaucracies." Sounds so silly, doesn't it? But it is a real dilemma for women in The Sandbox. Apparently Alia was unable to "find a trusted male family member willing to commit themselves to carry on those chores on demand," so her "only option was to hire some male agent... and sign over the power of attorney, granting him full and absolute powers in company matters." WTF?!? You - as a woman - have your own company, but you - as a woman - are NOT allowed to conduct your own business affairs. Call it what you like. I call it control. It all has to do with control, the way I see it.

The article says, "Over the years there have been various reported cases of abuse of power by these so-called legal agents. Many a businesswoman has found herself on the short end of the stick upon discovering that the appointed agent had hauled away the company goods, leaving her in great financial distress and liability." Why is that not surprising? No matter. Alia took matters into her own hands - it is, after all, her business. She "began a campaign to do away with the condition of appointing a male agent. In light of recent progress on the issue of women's rights in the Kingdom [did I miss something? what rights!?!], she and many others... saw no reason why they could not dispense with this requirement." So Alia, along with several other businesswomen, "formulated a movement to abrogate the requirement for a male legal representative... Initially, the focus was on raising public awareness about the potential dangers of such a rule to female business owners." When that didn't work, they decided that they should "close down their businesses if their demands for the removal of this condition were not met."

These women should be feeling empowered. They have conquered many obstacles to be rising stars in the business world - no matter what profession they have chosen - and yet, instead of being empowered, they are virtually "squashed like bugs" at every step of the way by authorities who will not allow them to run their own companies and conduct their own business affairs. I applaud them for making the decision to close their businesses. Surely it has got to be a difficult choice but in this way at least they can say, "No. Enough is enough." What about those male agents? Now they are out of jobs. So, too, unfortunately, are the women who have closed their businesses. I am not an authority on economics, and have never professed to be, but the way I see it, when you have a business you actually help other businesses and those around you. Say you have a IT company. You've purchased computers from someone - or if you've built your own, you've purchased parts from someone. Those suppliers benefit. You rent office space; the landlord benefits. You purchase office furniture and equipment... You need electricity and telephone... Everyone benefits. You close your business and shut your doors? No one benefits.

Alia finally said, "No. Enough is enough." She has shut down her business here in The Sandbox, after being told at a meeting last week by the undersecretary at the Ministry of Commerce that she had to have "a male general manager." "She plans to relocate her enterprise to London. ...she had to inform her employees that she could simply not continue in the face of such a rule, especially when she had been recently cheated... by one of her 'appointed male agents.'"

Here is what she said: "I realize the anguish of the female workers in the company, but the constant pressure exerted by the appointed male agents in my business has disrupted many of my economic interests. I am no longer able to accomplish projects as quickly and efficiently as required, so the closure of my business activity is optimal for the moment. I understand that the closure does not help the economy, but the obstacles to come to work and appoint a male agent was becoming intolerable and burdensome, and causing me a great deal of anxiety." There you have it. Exasperated! All because of some "antiquated requirement."

Good luck with your business in London, Alia!

Penalty for Rape? Execution. Drugs, Too.

A Nigerian man was beheaded yesterday "after being found guilty of twice sexually assaulting an elderly woman in her home... the court found that on both occasions the accused had been under the influence of hashish and illegal pills." As I have pointed out in numerous posts during the past several years, only when the accused are locals is the nationality not reported. There is no guessing who it is that is committing crimes. Here's the thing. "The ministry said that this announcement [of the Nigerian having been executed yesterday] is to assure everybody that the government... is keen to maintain security and stability of the Kingdom." By virtue of that statement, an announcement that if you commit the crime of rape that you will be executed, does that mean that the six Saudis who abducted and then raped a Filipina woman a week or two ago are going to face this same punishment? That remains to be seen.

The same goes for drugs. Right? If you get caught with drugs the punishment is severe. Supposedly, if you get caught selling drugs then you will be executed. So what happened with the six or eight or twenty Saudi men who were caught at the airport, about to board a plane, with a load of hashish? The rumors of that drug bust went around like a wild fire out of control and there was not a mention - not a single word - about the drug bust in any news that I read. From what I have heard - from a few men who were at the airport that day - a couple of the men had more than just a little bit of the stuff "for personal use." They were carrying several kilograms each. One of DH's co-workers, who happens to be a Saudi, told DH exactly what was going to happen to them with a mere hand gesture: Off with their heads. Why is it that the story wasn't reported? When anyone else gets caught with drugs it is reported - along with their nationality. But the arrest of six or eight or twenty Saudi men trying to board a plane with drugs is kept quiet.

Another group of unpaid workers. The many employers who don't pay their laborers should be proud. They've got quite the scam going. "Come work for me. I will be paid for the work that you do, but you will not be paid for the work that you do." That is how it works. The laborers have virtually no recourse. Twenty-five workers claim they have not been paid for eight months; more than a handful of them are claiming that their employer has also canceled their medical insurance. The men have sought advice from a lawyer - who, they, no doubt will be required to pay - to find out "that the law requires their outstanding salaries to be paid." No shit, Dick Tracy! How many years of law school... "The Minister of Labor two years ago gave workers the right to report employers to labor offices should then not receive payment of salaries for a period of three months." The law sounds like a good one, but in actuality, it is, basically, worth less than the paper it has been written on. Lots and lots of workers have to "fight" to get paid, here. It isn't a secret. I can tell you stories of drivers who tell me that they have not been paid in months. Happens all the time. Good grief I hope these workers haven't already paid the lawyer who said, "...the 25 unpaid workers should take their case up with their regional labor office with a view to prosecuting their employer." Oh, pluheeze. When has an employer EVER been found guilty, here? Never? "If the labor office fails to resolve the case, then they should take it up with the governate." Outstanding legal work. What fabulous advice. "An official from the company that employs the 25 men said they only had two months' salary outstanding, a claim denied by employees." Employees, whoever you are, you are screwed and there is nothing you will be able to do about it. Chalk it up to life experience. You left your third-world country with hopes and dreams of coming to this one and being paid to work and where did it get you? You have no rights here, and the employer has them all. Tell all your friends NOT to work for the company you ended up working for. Word of mouth might make finding laborers for whoever your employer is close to impossible and perhaps he'll go out of business. Doubtful. But worth a try isn't it?

More on workers... Another maid. Just another maid. She's been abandoned "without an Iqama (residence permit) or even the necessary travel document, the passport." Her sponsor cannot be traced. Big surprise. Since the woman "carries no identification papers and her sponsor cannot be traced, the authorities have informed the concerned embassies and are waiting to confirm her nationality." The maid sits at a Rescue Center, in limbo. Something about her name being changed, by the recruiting agent who sent her here from "Kamaleswari" to "Rajani" has created quite an obstacle for this woman who wants to go back to her husband and two children in India. Yeah. Good luck. "In September 2006, Kamaleswari received an offer to work as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia. Because of the Indian government's restriction that Indian women below the age of 40 cannot go abroad to work as maids, a family friend [some friend!] advised Kamaleswari to go to Saudi Arabia via Sri Lanka." Probably not the best decision that Kamaleswari could have made. No matter. Hind-sight is always twenty-twenty. "Since she is illiterate, she could not read her passport details, and does not know whether the passport was Indian or Sri Lankan." Ut oh. "Under the Saudi sponsorship system, foreign workers upon arrival in the Kingdom must deposit their passports with the concerned sponsor/employer." Imagine - just imagine - for just one second if Saudi's traveling to other parts of the world were forced to give up their passports. Oh my gosh. The outrage it would spark. "Another unfortunate part in Kamaleswari's life in Saudi Arabia was that she has not been paid for the work she has done." No?! Shocker! "She worked with one sponsor for 12 months and was only paid for three, notwithstanding the fact that she was recruited at the meager monthly wage of SR500." [$134.04 a month; $1,608.48 a year. That's $30.93 per week and if she was lucky she ONLY worked 40 hours - so that's .77 an hour - slave wages.] "After one year of work with one sponsor, Kamaleswari was handed over to another manpower provider agency in Riyadh where she worked for 18 months." No information as to whether or not she was paid for that time is reported. Anyone care to guess? The poor [literally] woman just wants to go back home to her husband and children. "When her sponsor abandoned her at the rescue center, she had no idea of the magnitude of the problem she was going to face." No. I bet she didn't. Interesting final statement: "Foreign workers employed under the domestic helpers category are usually deprived of labor rights that govern foreign workers in Saudi Arabia." Umm. What labor rights? See above.

On a lighter note... A "Girls' school becomes baboon's playground." Surely there is a joke there, somewhere, but I'm not touching it...

It Was All Yummy!

If I do say so, myself. [Although the pork roast was a bit dry...]

Made clams casino from scratch [with real PORK bacon!] and eggplant and Cheez-it appetizers [a recipe from my Grandmother - always a big hit - recipe at bottom of post]:

The broccoli, red onion, yellow raisins, almonds and bacon [real PORK!] salad with red wine grape juice dressing:

Herbed, roasted potatoes:

Peas with white onions and mushrooms...

... and for dessert? Pistachio cake!

Yummy. All of it.


Eggplant and Cheez-it Appetizers:

A couple of eggplants, washed, dried, sliced into 1/2" slices;
A box of Cheez-it crackers - crushed - in a one-gallon size bag;
Miracle Whip.

Spread a thin coat of Miracle Whip onto each slice of the eggplant - both sides. Put it in the baggie full of crushed crackers and use your hand to "grind" the crackers into the slice of eggplant - on both sides.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven until browned and crispy - about twenty-five to thirty minutes. Serve still warm. [The cracker coating will be crispy and the eggplant will be soft and cooked.]

We Knew This Was Coming

Whether it actually happens or not, though... MPs vote for blanket ban of public sale of alcohol in Bahrain. Well okay, then.

The article says, "A blanket ban on public sale of alcohol in Bahrain's hotels, restaurants and clubs is what most Member of Parliament want." On Tuesday they voted for a total ban "but agreed to allow consumption in private homes, with supplies providing home delivery." How convenient for the MP's. Anyone who doesn't live in Bahrain is going to have to get a room - a hotel room - and drink there, privately.

The nationwide ban was proposed by Shaikh Jassem Al Saeedi who said, "alcohol was fueling the vice trade and turning the country into a brothel." Forcing people to get hotel rooms is going to prevent that, how? He says, "It is the main reason behind unclean tourism and the consequences the country is facing from increased crime." [Emphasis, mine. Oh my gosh. You have no idea how badly I want to comment on what he said but do not believe that I can do so - not as long as we are here in The Sandbox, anyway.]

So, in the future, then, only private homes will be able to consume those products - no more restaurants, bars. That is an awful lot of revenue that will leave the coffers there. Oh, sure you can tell me that people from Saudi go to Bahrain to shop - and some do - but they also go there to drink. That is NOT a secret. Someone isn't thinking this whole thing through. And there are going to be a lot of upset restaurant owners and bar owners that are going to want to make sure that their profits do not disappear, and considerably, I might add, any time soon.

How much money did both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain make during the past week when school was out and there were 240-something thousand cars that traveled the Causeway to get to Bahrain so people could "go shopping." It is 20 riyals per car to cross. $5.36. [Doing some quick math - for the 228,250 cars that crossed the bridge leaving Saudi to go to Bahrain - that comes out to $1,223,420! In one week. Nope. No one is going to allow that kind of revenue to disappear without a fight.] How much money did those restaurants rake in during that period? There were some 500,000 people that made the trek across the bridge - in those 228,250 cars. We all know that they were NOT all "shopping."

It is going to happen. But not without some protest. Personally, I could care less one way or another. We don't go to Bahrain that often. And I don't do a whole lot of shopping in the Middle East, period. If you get rid of the alcohol, the Causeway will be a breeze - but the only reason we'd bother going shopping in Bahrain is to get pork - and you're trying to take that away, too. When both are gone? We will have no reason to make the trip. Thankfully DH's schedule allows us to be gone for three weeks, every ten weeks. We can go to Singapore, Greece, Amsterdam, the States or wherever and spend our money there. We can go two and a half months without eating bacon or drinking wine and beer. We often do. I can find plenty of other ways to spend our money and it won't be supporting... Oh, never mind.

Ten-Year-Old Spinster - Now Married

Nope. You just can't make this kind of stuff up. A Saudi sheikh "performed a wedding ceremony between a 10-year-old girl and a 26-year-old man. The girl's father said that he married off his daughter because he feared that she would remain a spinster." No report on what the father was paid for giving up his little girl. What's the going price for ten-year-old's? We know an 8-year-old costs about $8,042.26. How does this payment system work? The younger the child the more money you can get for her? File this one under "you'vegottobefuckingkiddingme." Saw it at the internet bowel scourer's site, first.

The pedophiles in this country are going to have to move quickly. If you want to marry a child, you need to do so as authorities are considering a ban of "marriage for girls below 18." Why are they considering this, finally? Because they are humiliated from the recent case of a little eight-year-old girl being married off to a man some fifty years older than her which made the rounds, world-wide. That that case "drew international criticism and embarrassed the kingdom" is the ONLY reason authorities are considering the ban of marriage to children. There is, of course, the possibility that the ban will not happen as many others, here, "endorse the practice of marrying underage girls, arguing that in doing so they avoid spinsterhood or the temptation of engaging in relationships outside of wedlock." Apparently some of this has to do with "financial considerations" and "tribal traditions." The "tribal traditions," although foreign to most of us who have lived in civilized countries, I can understand. The "financial considerations" is something that needs to be completely taken out of the equation. That you have had little girls - with all four of your wives - and are now seeing piles of money as you can sell them to the highest bidders is just wrong, in my opinion.

In other "local" news...

A beauty contest of sorts. Not camels or goats. And not women in swimsuits, either. A "Miss Beautiful Morals" contest. All has to do with how devoted you are and how much respect you have for your parents, according to the article. "It's an alternative to the calls for decadence in the other beauty contests that only take into account a woman's body and looks." What contests would those be? The winner in the "Miss Morals Contest" won't necessarily be pretty. Well that takes Miss Pretty from the post office, here, out of the running then. When the contest opens "nearly 200 contestants will spend the next 10 weeks attending classes and being quizzed on themes including 'Discovering your inner strength,' 'The making of leaders' and 'Mom, paradise is at your feet.' ...It is the latest example of... co-opting Western-style formats to spread their message in the face of the onslaught of foreign influences flooding the region through the Internet and satellite television." But. But. But. I thought ALL western-style influences were bad? This is the second year of the "Miss Morals Contest" and the winner and two runners-up will be announced in July. [I can hardly wait!] First prize is $2,600 and some stuff and the runners-up will each get $1,300. Doesn't say what the "stuff" is.

I've lost count. How many are we up to, so far, this year? There were two more "were beheaded by the sword" yesterday. Yemenis. Very, very important to know that they were some other nationality... [Unlike the story of the six rapists who we still don't know anything about.] No guessing necessary.

Where as here it is necessary to guess... "Police in Afifi have arrested two young men for harassing girls outside their school. The pair was stopped... after they were observed loitering." More riff-raff, at least temporarily, off the streets. Good.

A couple of Ethiopian "women have been sentenced to jail and lashes for drinking and distributing the locally produced alcoholic drink 'Araq.'" Had no idea that you could find Araq, here. Had it in Jordan when we were there last year - on the recommendation of our Lebanonese hairdresser - and thought it tasted terrible. A licorice kind of taste. I guess if you like anisette and black licorice you might like Araq, but neither DH or I cared for it. Anyway - the women will do jail time and be given lashes and then deported. The court that sentenced them is the same court that sentenced a "Bengali man to two weeks' prison for rigging a fuel pump in order to claim more money than he was due from drivers."

More unpaid workers. And nothing will be done to help them. Just seems to be okay, here, for workers to do what they are supposed to do - for months and months on end - and for the employers to NOT pay them. Authorities could do something about it if they wanted to. Seems to me most are willing to turn a blind eye to the problem and just let it slide.

PCRC to the tune of 18 per day. Authorities could do something about this as well. And, yet, they don't.

That's all I've got for today. I'm off to the kitchen to get dinner ready for guests this evening. I want to spend the afternoon working next to the pool... It is another beautiful sunny day in The Sandbox and the pool temperature is 82 degrees!

In keeping with yesterday's "Bathroom" theme...

I am no longer welcome at the McDonald's on the Causeway...

Many years ago, not long after DH and I moved to The Sandbox, we decided we were going to go to Bahrain for dinner. It was a pleasant spring evening and I had a little sundress on and no black bag covering. Don't have to wear one in Bahrain. Plenty of skin showing - bare arms, legs, neck, a little cleavage too. Gorgeous shoes to match the dress [but, of course!]. DH and I have dinner and then go out for a few beverages after dinner, and then head back to Saudi. I never should have left Bahrain without taking a quick trip to the ladies room before getting in the truck to head home - but I did.

We get through customs and I tell DH that he is going to have to stop at McDonald's for me - that I've got to pee. No problem. DH swings the truck into the parking lot and my intention is to run in, do my business, and so as not to be rude and an unpaying guest get a vanilla milkshake.

I jump out of the truck and go into McDonald's and only briefly and quickly glance at the sign on the door and immediately enter. I only wish I had the pictures of the signs that depict which room is for men and which is for ladies. They look so much alike. They are not the standard which you would be used to seeing in the States with the woman wearing a dress and the man wearing pants. [Men wear dresses, here.]

Surely that I drank an entire bottle of wine by myself at dinner and then topped that off with a couple of vodka and soda's afterward had no effect whatsoever in impairing my eyesight or "snap judgment" as to which door I needed to enter. You see where this is going... I went into what I was pretty sure was the ladies room and apparently the fact that there was a urinal on the wall didn't phase me in the least or offer me, at that time in my inebriated state, a clue as to the fact that I was in the WRONG room. I had two choices - a quick glance at odd signs - and a fifty-fifty chance of choosing the RIGHT room. I did my business, washed my hands, and opened the door to exit the ladies men's room. Standing outside waiting for me was the entire McDonald's crew shouting at me that I was in the men's room and they were armed with all of their cleaning stuff as though I had just committed such a foul act that the entire restroom was going to have to be thoroughly sanitized, if not demolished. They were not happy McDonald's workers. Oopsie. Sorry 'bout that guys.

Needless to say - with all of the men sitting at their tables dressed in their white thobes and red and white checkered ghutras - every single one of them giving me the evil eye - whether it was because I had committed the crime of accidentally using the men's room instead of the ladies room, or whether it was because I had committed the crime of not being fully covered by a black bag and had the audacity to show some bare skin, I will never know. That, coupled with the entire Filipino and Indian staff yelling at me - I immediately left and never got my vanilla milkshake. And, I have never been back to the McDonald's since. I'd be willing to wager a bet that one of the men there - one of the Saudi's - used his camera to snap a quick picture of the "undressed American woman" who used the men's room and that that picture was then blown up and posted on the entry-way door of that McDonald's with an "X" on it - as if to make it ultimately clear that THIS American woman is not allowed to enter THAT McDonald's.

And that is today's bathroom story... It seemed scarier and funnier at the time. Guess it is one of those things where you probably had to be there.

[This is a sign from a Dubai. The signs in Saudi look pretty much the same. No doubt, had we have been here in The Sandbox longer than we had at the time - I would have know that the "white" picture is for the men's room and that the "black" picture is for the ladies room. I know now!]

Iron Fist Stomper Shoes

I think they are kind of cool looking. Not quite sure what'd you'd wear with them. Black capri's and a magenta halter top? That could work. Saw them first at doubleplusundead. My only fear is that the wide-ass Fist-thumping Lout would be sporting them, too. Phew. She' can't. They don't come in size "biggest feet in the world." And, they don't cost nearly enough . Only 44 pounds - what's that - about $60 - or $480 less than her newest sneakers cost. So...

What do you think of these shoes?
	They are super cool. I'd wear them.
	They are just okay. I might wear them.
	You've got to be kidding. I'd go barefoot first.
pollcode.com free polls

There is no toilet paper!

Pack tissues in your pocketbook if you are going to The Mall of Dhahran and you think you may need to use the ladies room. You're not going to find any toilet paper there. It has been removed by the powers that be. Why? Who knows.

Yesterday was girls day by the pool, here. Every Tuesday afternoon we get together. One of the girl's was telling us how she had to use the ladies room at the mall last week and she discovered, too late, that there was NO TOILET PAPER. It has been removed - purposely - and women who use the facilities there are expected to hose themselves off [and, I guess, drip dry]. The attendant in the ladies room told her that there is no toilet paper and that it had been removed, and several "local" teenage girls who were in the ladies room at the time said it was removed because they are not allowed to use it. WHAT!?! You cannot be serious.

I, personally, have never used the ladies room at The Mall of Dhahran. I also carry those little packages of Kleenex in my bag - along with my antibacterial wipes - so I am all set if I ever do have to use the facilities [which, of course, I am NOT planning on doing - especially now that I know that all "paper" products have been removed]. I've seen what ladies room floors look like after women have used the hoses to clean themselves. Nothing like wet tile to create a "safe and clean" atmosphere.

The Rashid Mall is one I try to avoid if I have to go shopping for something. I avoid it for several reasons. It is just not a "shopper friendly" mall. I have never learned the layout and am always lost when I am there. It is also where I got chased by the Muttawa for not wearing an abeya. I did, once, years ago, go into a ladies room there and was shocked to find what amounts to holes in the floor instead of porcelain toilets. And, hoses, instead of toilet paper. No. I did not use the facilities. Did not have "to go" that badly.

Someone tell me why toilet paper has been banned in the mall. Why are women not allowed to use it? And how is using a hose clean and sanitary? One of my commenter's puts it best and calls living here "time travel." Spot on. Bring out the "wabac machine, Sherman."


Update: Commenter, Linda, found this which, although not specifically saying that toilet paper cannot be used, explains that water - or dry clumps of earth - are better than toilet paper:

My question is regarding Taharah. Usually I come with Taharah and Wudu from my home, and avoid using the bathroom till Friday Prayer, but sometimes I cannot resist, and I have to use the bathroom, and clean myself with paper instead of water, as their is generally no water available in the Toilets in America. Personally, I think no matter how hard you try, you cannot be as clean without using water, as you can be with using water. I miss my Friday prayer thinking that I am not with Taharah. Do you think I will be able to attend the prayers after Wudu or I have to take a complete shower and change clothes? I hope you will answer my question and guide me and millions of other Muslims in North America, Europe and similar places. (M. A. Khan, Toronto, Canada)

A 3. Cleaning oneself after the natural urges is called Istinja in the terminology of Fiqh. The use of water is highly emphasized for Istinja, but it is not compulsory. If one can clean oneself with other absorbents, it also permissible. Thus the use of toilet paper as well as dry clods of earth (Jimar or what we call in Urdu Dhelas), stones, rags or other clean absorbents are permissible. You can use toilet paper or you can wet some toilet paper and use is to cleanse yourself and then use dry paper. You should not miss your Friday prayer or any prayer for this reason. Prayers on times are obligatory and they should be missed for any excuse. There is also no need for take a shower or to change clothes after the use of toilet. We should observe cleanliness, but exaggeration (ifrat and ghuluww) in any matter is not in the nature of Islamic teachings.

Thanks, Linda!

Full of Crap, Today

Pluh-eeeze. This can't be true. Read this. Now tell me why female gyms are being closed. Not because you want to see women healthy - that's for sure - but because someone is worried that "excessive movement may harm girls who are still virgins, possibly causing them to lose their virginity." Unbelievable. LFZ... [Swiped from the site that scours the bowels of the internet so we don't have to.]

From yesterday's article about keeping Saudi girls chaste, surprisingly [or, maybe not] there were only three comments made by the general public. Since it wasn't in the print edition of the paper it is a safe bet that not everyone is aware of the article. Still, I am surprised at the lack of attention it generated. The comments are here. One lone female commenter, who said "As a young muslim woman, I am sick and tired of Islamic authorities always talking about the responsibilities of the women in Islam in a patronizing manner. I am yet to hear about the authorities urging men to AT LEAST control their gaze." Good for her for speaking up.

This woman did not read the article in yesterday's paper. She's been caught by The Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice "for maintaining an illicit relationship with a foreign resident." Ut oh. Someone's in trouble...

Just another disposable worker. A maid. She hung herself.

A two-year old is NOT an infant. A two-year old is a toddler. And everyone knows that you can't take your eyes of a toddler - ever. No one was watching her. She drowned "in what was described as a large bucket at the family's home."

Not sure about this. The husband says the wife's tooth was broken during a routine c-section and that the hospital is responsible. Something is just wrong with the story. Perhaps the man hit his wife and that's how the tooth was broken?

That is not "turky" in the package in the picture. It is a pork roast that I am making for dinner tomorrow night. Six guests coming for clams casino and a pork roast - oh, and a broccoli salad with bacon. It will be a virtual pork-fest. Yummy! And, then, that is pretty much it for pork products at this household. Still a couple packages of hot sausages in the freezer which I will use at a pool party I have planned. Now is probably not the time to be bringing pork back to Saudi from Bahrain. Should have gone last week when they had 228,250 cars crossing. Although, I'm glad we didn't go. Can't imagine how long the wait was sitting at customs with that many cars. 540,343 people went to Bahrain. All to go shopping, right? Yeah. Right.

Saudi Girls Must Stay Chaste

So says Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti. [The newspaper hasn't been delivered yet - and I'll be curious to see where this article is. If it is on the front page, in big print, I'll post a photo. See below.] Nary a mention of Saudi boys. Imagine if someone in the States said this. Women's groups would go ballistic. Heads would explode. "Saudi girls [should] remain chaste in the face of liberal forces which want to deviate women from the right Islamic path so as to satisfy their ulterior motives which have nothing to do with Islam." What are the "liberal forces?" Driving? Going to movies? No. Apparently traveling is a liberal force. As is being unveiled. And getting involved in relationships with whoever they want. Mobile phones. They're a big problem. "Legal marriage is the right way of protecting the youth from committing sins." Well. Okay, then.

The article is NOT in the print edition of the paper. Why is that? I have searched all 16 pages of today's paper and the article is NOT there. I've captured it though, in a couple of different screen shots, just in case it mysteriously disappears. Other articles have...

The front page of the on-line edition of today's Saudi Gazette:

The actual article:

Some people just can't mind their own dayum business. A man on a plane "demanded that the air steward oblige a fellow passenger to cover her hair and bring a 'mehram'" [male guardian - see above] after refusing to put on his seat-belt. [File under: Only in Saudi.] The pilot "was forced to turn his aircraft around and abandon take-off." Passengers should have pummeled the guy to an unrecognizable mass of bloody pulp. What a jerk. He - the man who is not identified by either name or nationality - is reported to have declared that "cleansing the plane of Shariah violations is more important than wearing seat belts... in any case, safety is in the hands of God." Put this asshole on a permanent no-fly list and tell him to get on a camel the next time he wants to travel. "Security officers requested that the passenger disembark from the aircraft, considering him a risk to the flight." Gee. 'Ya think?

In other news today... "The Commission for Investigation and Prosecution has begun interrogating the father of three boys and a girl... who were reportedly beaten and abused. The children's stepbrothers and stepmother are also implicated." If any of this is true I hope every single one of them - the stepbrothers, the stepmother and most of all, the father go to jail for a very, very long time. The children's mother, "an Arab of non-Saudi nationality" [does it matter what nationality she is? it must - it is reported] discovered the abuse when she "came to the Kingdom to visit them." She says, "I found that they had been tortured day and night. They had been sleeping on bare floor tiles and shattered glass." Shattered glass? "The four children, of whom the boys are aged between 11 and 14, say that they suffered regular beatings, and that they were burnt and maltreated in other ways by their father, stepmother and stepbrothers. One of the children said that his stepmother would force him to clean the bathroom, and lock him in after filling the room with insecticide spray." Who cleans a bathroom with insecticide spray? And, where is the maid? Are you the ONLY family in Saudi without one? "The girl said that her stepmother took her to a deserted valley area, beat her repeatedly and burned her on the private parts of her body. She said her step-mother would only give them the leftovers of meals... and would sometimes put insecticide in it." What is it with the insecticide? Sounds to me like the wicked stepmother was trying to kill them - the children of her husband's first marriage. The mother - the real mother - "is seeking a a trial by Shariah Court for the abusers of her children." Would this be the same court that awarded custody of the children to the father in the first place? Let us know how that works out.

Totally Off Topic - Kinda, Sorta

Somewhere yesterday I saw that Lorena Bobbitt and her former husband, John, had been reunited for the first time since she took a kitchen knife to his manhood. If I had any idea where I saw it, I'd link. Anyone else see it?

And, speaking of Lorena Bobbitt...

One of the sites I check in the morning when I'm getting ready to do my posting, here, is Big News Network.com. So I click and go there today and of course, one of the first articles I see is the one that I saw in the Saudi Gazette that I posted on [below above], "Saudi Mufti says Saudi girls must stay chaste."

I do a quick glance at the side-bar of that page and see, "Secretary accidentally bites off boss' penis." Of course with that kind of by-line you HAVE to click, right?

I'm thinking to myself, "How do you accidentally bite off..." That's "playing" kind of rough, isn't it? Oh. That's how.

[I am putting this post below the "Saudi Girls" post. That one is important enough to take "first billing" for today, I think.]

You Don't Have to be a Rocket Scientist...

...to figure out that the six boys/men who raped a Filipina woman are all Saudis. Three separate articles in three days. Not one mention of the nationality of the rapists. If they were anything but Saudi we would have known in the very first article published. It would have been included as pertinent information. Today we find out about their criminal past. Why some of them are not still in jail, or haven't been "ultimately" punished like anyone else would be for committing the same crimes, here, would have been is a mystery.

"Police investigating the abduction and rape of a Filipinia woman last week in Jeddah have provided further details about the six individuals... revealing that some members of the gang had previous criminal records involving drugs and rape." Sometimes it is what isn't said that is more important than what is said. Do you think for a nano second that if some Indian had raped someone in the past that he wouldn't have already been beheaded? He would have been tried, convicted and executed within weeks of his crime. Same with if an African was accused of some criminal activity involving drugs. He would be in jail for the rest of his life. But the boys/men involved in raping a woman last week? Up until Thursday or Friday they were wandering the streets.

One of them - the youngest of the group - "had been released from a youth detention center only weeks earlier after having been detained for the rape of a boy." Guessing his Daddy must have some pretty good connections or he would still be in the detention center, right? Ditto for the "oldest of the gang," who is 23 years old and "had been incriminated in two previous cases involving drugs and rape." Nice. What does his Daddy do? There is no way the average Joe Mohammed would be out of jail with that kind of record.

Supposedly "they had not planned their crime beforehand but were instead on their way to visit friends in the Al-Safa District where the abduction took place." Is rape one of those crimes that is usually planned? You know, like robbing a bank? I don't know. I guess it could be. So, if the accused are to be believed, then, they were innocently on the way to a friends house and drove by a woman out walking [don't forget, she's a Filipina woman - we've been told in every single report, so that must be important] and one of them said, "Hey. Let's have some fun with her?" Was it the driver? And he just stopped the car and said to one of his accomplices, "Abdullah, grab her." No. When three of you are involved it takes a modicum of planning - even if it is relatively spontaneous. But to make matters worse one of you then called three of your friends and they came and joined you. That is premeditated.

We don't know who the woman involved is. We know she was roughed up pretty badly. She was thrown out of the vehicle near a hospital once the boys/men had had their way with her. And, of course, we know she is Filipina. She is married to an Arab, but we don't know if he is a local Arab. He - the husband - must have some connections somewhere though, or this case would not have garnered the attention of the authorities that it has. If it was just any Filipina woman - say a housemaid - no one would care.

Throw the proverbial book at these six thugs. Get them off the streets so the rest of us can be safe. Whoever they are, or whoever they are related to should have no bearing in whether or not they receive whatever punishment is the strictest that can be meted out. A couple of them have already had their "second chance" and they blew it. Now, do what is right, and prosecute them just like any one else would be prosecuted. My knowledge on the laws in this country may be incorrect, but isn't rape punishable by execution beheading?

ZoNation - Must be Shared

This man is good. He's got a whole slew of videos out there. Watch them all! Too bad more sheeples can't see what he sees. Keep it up, Zo!

Shamelessly swiped from Kickin' and Screamin' who took it from Jawa Report - which I can't get to, because it is blocked here, in The Sandbox.

Fugly Times Fifty! And a Dog-Killing Thug

It's my blog. I can be snarky if I want to. Today, I want to.

Everything about this. The entire picture. Fugly fifty times over. The jeja's wider half wearing $540.00 sneakers. I hope she paid full price for them and paid a hefty sales tax on them to boot [pun, intended]. What a joke. And to say that she is one of People's "most beautiful" is an insult to beautiful women world-wide. [Click at your own risk. And file under "you'vegottobefuckingkiddingme."] Nothing beautiful about her - even if you start with looking for beauty on the "inside."

I know shoes. I know nice shoes - sneakers - sandals when I see them. These are hideous. Does anyone see anything attractive about these? Am I missing something?

Did you get dressed in the dark? With all your millions in money you earned in a non-position at a hospital where you only got hired because your jeja husband was a Chicago thug, you can't afford a pair of "footies" that actually fit and hide inside that pair of boats you're wearing, like they are supposed to? [Probably not. The wide-ass wears something like a size 12 and most women's footies are not designed to fit anything other than a normal size. She doesn't wear a "normal" size - few women have feet the size of Sasquatch. She is probably wearing men's footies.]

Not a surprise that I have nothing nice to say about the wide-ass. Never will, either.

And if this isn't beyond sickening! A dog-killing thug is in talks to become the newest spokesman for PETA? Good grief.

What is happening over on that side of the world. Makes me thankful to be here, in The Sandbox.

16th Maid Abused This Year

Indonesian maid, that is. Doesn't include any other nationality. Not seeing as many cases of domestic abuse in the newspapers as we used to. Which, of course, doesn't mean that it isn't happening, it simply means that The Sandbox's image isn't tarnished by airing such dirty laundry in public. And sixteen Indonesian maids? That's only about one a week.

The horrific story of this young woman is here - with a photo of her feet. [Read: Her face was too badly bruised to show.]

Interesting that she has "severe injuries," having been hit with an electric wire, having burns on her back and genitals, a broken front tooth, black eyes and bruises on her face and that her sponsor says, "He did not know how she received physical injuries as they had never ill-treated her."

Classic case for calling B.S. Classic. She probably burned herself on her back and genitals in some sort of masochistic ritual, the black eyes and bruises on her face are from falling or hitting a door or something, and the broken tooth is the result of slipping in the tub. Um hmm. Sure. Sure. Her injuries - all of which were self inflicted or accidents - are severe enough that she has been in a hospital for THREE weeks! But the employer and his wife didn't do it. The young 20-year-old maid was taken to the hospital by ambulance after "members of the public who found her lying on the road."

The maid is able to talk and tells her attorney that the man who sponsored her [the man who brought her to The Sandbox to work] and his wife "struck her." To add insult to injury she has not been paid for the entire time she worked for the couple; 19 months and 14 days. Unimaginable. But, believable, here, where slavery is alive and well. The attorney told Arab News, "This is the 16th case of abuse of housemaids registered at the Indonesian Embassy this year. Some of them were victims of rape and consequently illegitimate pregnancy." Lovely. Just lovely.

What will happen to the man and his wife who abused this poor [in a literal sense] young maid? Nothing. They will get another maid to abuse. What will happen to the young maid? She will be deported and sent back to Indonesia UNPAID, if she is not charged with making a false report and thrown in jail.

Photo swiped from Big Dick's Place.

Cruisin' [Mom - Don't read this. Bad words.]

So, I'm cruisin' around the interwebs last night, as I am wont to do... I have my favorites. One of them is Rachel Lucas. She is THE Doll of the Interwebs. Oh. And, she's "all international" and all now. Having moved from that hick place - Texas - in the States - to England... I get there. I want to read comments to this post. I get this:

What the heLL? Illegal or questionable?!? What the __ uck is that?!! Thank you so much Websense. Most useless program in the entire world. So much gets censored - and I'm not "cruisin'" for anything that I consider to be bad. Not like I'm searching p0rn0sites or trying to learn how to do something illicit. And it is all so hypocritical. Unbelievable. All I want to do is read a comment or two. I get "censored." The whole free speech thing? Not here. And don't believe anything else that you might read otherwise about that elsewhere. [Although, apparently, for about $100.00 a month - with NO downloads - I could get Orbit satellite and get around the censors. Seems like an awful lot to pay for just internet.] How comforting it is to know that I am being protected from myself. Welcome to my world!

Get 'cher little nekked self back inside.

Cute. No pictures to show for it. Wouldn't have taken a photo even if I would have had the camera with me - well, I might have, but I wouldn't post it here. I'd get in too much trouble and it just isn't worth it.

We're out for our daily jaunt through the compound today - after DH got home from work this morning. We were walking down a street not too far from our house and we hear a child "squealing." A "delight" squeal, not a "harm" squeal. The front window of the house is wide open. All of the sudden the child we had heard stands on the window sill - on the inside [he crawled there from a chair? the couch? who knows] - and steps out into the "outside" and he is stark nekked. Not a stitch of clothing on him. He was - say, three - maybe four - and he's pointing to The Kids and shouting for others to come see. It was cute.

But I just hafta ask myself why he had no clothes on - is it typical to have a three or four year old child here that runs around inside the house with no clothes on? Maybe. Oh. And where were the adults? Nanny? Maid? Mother? Father? Not a single adult to be seen. Never mind that the kid didn't have so much as a pair of underwear on - what about the danger of him standing in the window like that and then falling? He'd have fallen onto bushes and you just know he would have been hurt. Not injured hurt - but cuts, scrapes and bruises hurt. He continued to stand there - nekked - in the window as we continued down the block - squealing and shreiking.

Wow! They said they would. They did.

Have to give credit where credit is due. In yesterday's paper the police chief in Jeddah said that they would be arresting the six men responsible for raping a woman last week within twenty-four hours. I commented that they had to already have some information that would effectuate that or such a brave statement wouldn't have been issued. All six men have been "rounded up." Here's the thing... Am I the only one who wonders how it is that in so many cases confessions are made in such a short time? Not that I care. The methods used, whatever they are, seem to work, apparently. "Working on information provided by the victim, police... located one of the individuals suspected of being involved in the crime. Five hours later the rest of the gang had been rounded up." Did the first individual squeal on his friends, maybe? That is my guess. "The six detained men reportedly confessed to the police details of the crime..." Hmmm. So, a police man has only to ask nicely, "Did you rape a woman?" and, here, a detainee says, "Yes. I am guilty." Uh-huh. That is how that happens. Right? [Still no mention of the nationality of the men who have confessed to the rape, although in each and every article on this incident the woman's nationality is reported. Why is that?]

PCRC. Here and here. Lots of it. 50 or 60 injured. Ten or eleven dead. Separate accidents - quite a few accidents. Barely a mention of anyone speeding or violating any road rules. But of course... One report makes it clear, though, that an Indian truck driver is being blamed for nine deaths - he has been arrested. Someone has to take the blame regardless of whether it is his fault or not.

This probably deserves its own post - it is lengthy - and I must comment. Must. About movie cinemas in The Sandbox. Controversial. No "X-Men Wolverine" for you! "The Kingdom has recently witnessed signs of a greater acceptance of the possibility of opening cinema theaters for the public screening of films, but views differ not only on whether such a thing should be allowed to occur... but also on how it should occur if permission were finally granted." Ya, know what? Why bother. Just sign up for Showtime or Orbit. You can watch movies in the privacy of your own home and not have to deal with all the extraneous issues surrounding whether or not you should go to the cinema. Of course, that isn't yet an option. Too many barriers and variables to work out, the biggest of which seems to be the how to resolve the "segregation of the xeses." [Yes, I have to spell it that way - otherwise I get blocked by the powers that be on MY own site. Thanks to the most useless program in the entire world, Websense.] Cannot have men and women in the same theater together! Just imagine what could happen. Oh my goodness. [Snort.]

The people interviewed for the article have varying opinions. They sound like brain-washed opinions to me, but that's just my view. One person says, "I support the idea of having cinemas in Saudi Arabia, I'm a cinema lover, and I think it's an invitation to get to know other cultures and the less positive aspects of other societies in a unique way." What? Do you think cultures outside of Saudi Arabia's are the ONLY ones that have "less positive aspects?" No doubt, you do. [By all means, don't bother looking in the mirror.] Another young man says, "If we had cinema we wouldn't have to go to cafes and shopping malls, which are basically a waste of time. The cinema is education and informative." I've not seen "X-Men Wolverine" [or any of the other X-Men flicks], but I'd be willing to wager that there is not a whole lot of "educational" material that can be gleaned, there. Oh - and as far as cafes and shopping malls being a waste of time? Why do you go, then? Never mind. Another young man says, "Cinema could give us a bit of variation to our lives" blah, blah, blah "...so I think it is necessary for Saudi, but within acceptable limits." [Prime example of a brain-washed response!]

Back to the whole segregation issue - the most important part of this whole debate. "Days for men, days for women." Well. There you go. Problem solved. [So much for "date night." No dinner AND a movie for you!] One woman says, "We need cinema in Saudi, we need to follow the example of other neighboring countries and the rest of the Arab World..." Heh. With the exception of Kuwait, the rest of the Arab World allows alcohol to be sold. You might be going down a slippery slope with the argument of following the examples of neighboring countries and the rest of the Arab World. Oh, and there are no other Arab Countries - well, okay, I guess there is one - that segregate the xeses like they are segregated here. The same woman says, "I think giving two days to show social and cultural films to women would be an interesting idea, and they could give one day to men to show their sort of films. Films that contradict our culture shouldn't be shown." Well, of course not. Which leaves you with, what? So much for "social" issues. More brain-washing, with this statement from a twenty-one-year old, "I support the idea, but as long as they keep the segregation of the xeses. They could give one day to women and one day to men." Yeah. That is the answer that everyone thinks you should give to that, isn't it? It isn't how you really feel though. Right? From someone else, "The presence of movie theaters in Saudi would be a positive step forwards [so would allowing women to drive - and I think we all know that is never going to happen], but the films they show shouldn't conflict with customs and traditions, and shouldn't cross certain lines which we have been brought up to respect in our religion, customs and traditions." Back to traditions, respecting religion and customs. And from someone else, "In my view it's a way of educating people and increasing cultural sensibilities, but on the other hand it might affect this conservative society, so personally I hope they don't open cinemas, even for documentaries." Not to worry. The debate is going to keep the issue stalled for sometime.

From the perspective of those involved in the genre of television medium, on man says, "Cinema is a branch of cultural growth... In terms of positives and negatives, the cinema is no different to the theater [how many theaters are in The Sandbox?] or television, in that it can be used for good or for bad depending on how it is used." [What a revelation!] Another "news reader and discussion show host" says, "It will provide a much needed family atmosphere, but what's shown needs to be subject to approval." [Translation: Censorship. Big time.]

There is more. Several paragraphs more dealing with how to do this - have "cinema," and keep men separated from women. Divide the theater in half? Give separate days to men and women? Put families together? What about popcorn? No mention whatsoever of popcorn. The last paragraph is the best and I think will basically decide the issue for everyone. Concern yourselves no more. Read it, here.

"24"

Where's Jack Bauer when you need him? He could crack this case and find the culprits rapists. In 24 hours. "We don't have much time." The Chief of the Jeddah police said "that the six individuals responsible for the abduction and rape of a Filipina women in Jeddah on Tuesday will be caught 'within 24 hours.'" That is a brave statement to make, if you ask me, unless you know who they are already. Apparently he does, because he said that information the police have "leads us to expect arrests soon." Good. I hope they are arrested and punished to the full extent of the law. The article about the woman's ordeal was in yesterday's paper. Another round of guess the nationality... If you are not Saudi, your nationality is identified.

Like in this case where police broke "up a vice den frequented by African men and women." No guessing the nationality. "The African owner of the premises reportedly supplied women and charged clients 200 Riyals for an evening's hospitality." [$53.61.] "Clients of the gentleman were all reportedly of various African nationalities." The "vice den" was infiltrated by an undercover agent. It all sounds so clandestine. The article is 4 sentences long - 91 words, total. The nationality is included three times.

Blue pills. The newest fad. "The kingdom has been gripped with a craze for erectile-dysfunction medications by young men... A large number of married Saudi youths are flocking to pharmacies to take hold of Viagra... The catchy words and obscene images that appear on online advertisements of theses medications are... luring youth into buying packets of these stimulants." Well okay, then. Who knew? Perhaps some of them really need them. One man interviewed said that "his sudden stoppage resulted in some mental disturbance," and another said that "he became addicted to the stimulant" and is "now considering seeking psychiatric help." It is always something. Oh. And by the way, these men are not youths. They may be young men, but they are not youths. They are married men. The only youths that get married in The Sandbox are little girls. The boys wait until they are fifteen or sixteen. "According to Saudi doctors, this phenomenon reflects the spread of a negative sexual culture among the young generation in the Kingdom." A culture which has been carefully cultivated by the Kingdom's elders? You force these men to believe that they must be virtual xes-machines by allowing them four wives. With that kind of pressure, what do you expect? I know. I know. In the end all of this will be President Bush's fault. Why not? Everything else is.

More in the news on the eight-year-old child that was forced to marry a man FIFTY YEARS OLDER than her! Yesterday one report - that I posted - said the pedophile was 50. Today it is reported that he is 58. What's a difference of eight years? This whole matter is pathetic. And you wonder why others tend to view you so negatively. The pedophile paid 30,000 riyals [$8,042.89] to the child's father [and I use that in the loosest possible sense of the word - what kind of father sells his child for $8,042.89?!?]. The child's father "took control of the funds, which he used to settle some financial problems." I'd say that the man has more than financial problems. Hopefully, at some point, the little girl will write a book or somehow get a Lifetime movie deal out of this whole debacle and identify the man who calls himself her father. Inquiring minds want to know. Perhaps if enough shame is cast upon him he will take it upon himself to do the honorable thing and throw himself off a tall building or step in front of a speeding car. Now that would be what an honor killing should be all about!