Don't feel bad for judging the Saudi regime any more than you'd feel bad for judging any other rotten dictatorship. Judge and vlog away, I reckon. Maybe someone who'll one day become a US politician will watch you and remember when they're asked to turn a blind eye to our complicity in the Saudi misery. Chances are, they haven't really thought about it.
As for the foreigners getting what they deserve for not observing local customs, this is really more about political hypocrisy, I think - generally the authorities turn a blind eye to foreigners' secret drinking dens - then after a long time, when people feel it's OK and tacitly accepted, they do a random bust to show they're tough on the decadent west - this was just a particularly big bust. The numbers arrested should tell you something. 400 people? They knew it was illegal, but they didn't expect anyone to care. "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!" "Your winnings, sir." And don't bet that this was some kind of rave - most of these clubs are ex-pat community clubs with very little booze. Read the language of what's accused - it reads like trumped up charges for regular activities. Scary stuff. I quote the wife of a guy sentenced to 800 lashes, 8 years in prison and an $800k fine: "We had the best club in Riyadh. We made it mainly so the nurses had somewhere to go. Many were teetotal. We had poetry readings, darts matches, piano recitals because there's nothing else to do in Saudi Arabia." And your judgement isn't politically incorrect in terms of beliefs and customs. This has about as much to do with Islam as jailing a kid for 11 years for oral sex has to do with Christianity. Or, perhaps more appropriately, as Prohibition had to do with being American. The Saudi establishment is corrupt, repressive and uses extremism as a tool for power - and we support them - I guess because we'd rather have the King in charge than a revolution. Unfortunately, we kept troops there after Gulf War 1 to shore up this regime, which was Al Qaeda's biggest recruiting tool in the 1990s - "infidel troops profaning the land of the two holy mosques". But that's another story. I say, go ahead, judge what makes you angry and vlog it. Heath does Bob. What's next? On 5 Feb 2007, at 15:36, Heath wrote: Oh, I understand completly about knowing the laws for a country you are going to visit...When I was in the service and went over to Saudi for the first gulf war I went through a class on the customs and laws.....it just makes me think where are we headed as a whole, our world? Jan could be right, maybe as we "evolve" we will start living based on culture, but then where would that eventually lead us? Is that not segeration then? Woundn't that fuel even more mistrust and utimalely lead to more issues? I think it would.....you fear what you don't know..... I have no answers only questions... Heath http://batmangeek7.blogspot.com --- In [email protected], "Deirdre Straughan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 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] > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
