We all have every right to judge other people, countries, and customs. They may not agree with our judgements - they have that right.
I am absolutely not shy to say that laws like these are barbaric and medieval. We can only hope that the people of Saudi Arabia some day succeed in rebelling against this idiocy - it's clear that many of them aren't particularly happy about it, either. However... the arrestees, while foreigners, broke local laws. You must live by the laws of the country you are in, no matter how stupid they are, and you can't expect to get away with anything just because you're a foreigner. Last year there were several highly-publicized cases of Australians sentenced to death for smuggling drugs into Indonesia. I don't agree with the death sentence for anything, let alone drug smuggling. However, it seemed a bit much for the Australian government to expect these people to be let off just because the laws are more lenient at home. If you're going to smuggle drugs, you ought to at least be smart enough to research the local laws and understand exactly what you're risking! Similarly, a foreign teenager (I forget what nationality, maybe American) was sentenced to lashing in Singapore some years ago, for graffiti. Again, that's the local law - why should he get special treatment because he's foreign? The lesson here is that other countries are decidedly NOT like our home countries in all sorts of ways, and it's a good idea to learn the ropes before you go there. On 2/5/07, Heath <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I just read this > > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16978938/ > > Ok, I know we have international folks here, help me understand this > article please.....I read things like this and I am torn....on one hand > who am I to judge a culture or another country's laws....but on the > other hand, I mean c'mon it's insane..... > > It's time's like this I want to believe in the power of the net, the > power of education, the power, the hope that things can change....by > making the world smaller, by sharing, by showing how much in commen we > really have with each other maybe, just maybe something positive can > happen... > > Heath > http://batmangeek7.blogspot.com > > > -- best regards, Deirdré Straughan www.beginningwithi.com (personal) www.tvblob.com (work) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
