If you think Sudan is bad, try Saudi Arabia

[stumbler]

In a very rare move the US has joined Canada in criticizing Saudi Arabia, our strongest Middle East ally, by protesting the prison sentence and lashing of a 19 year old woman who was gang raped along with the man she was caught alone with. In the latest developments her lashing has been increased to 200 lashes because her lawyer filed an appeal claiming the rape victim's sentence was to harsh while her attackers sentences were to lenient.

A Saudi court on Tuesday more than doubled the number of lashes that a female rape victim was sentenced to last year after her lawyer appealed the original sentence. The decision, which many lawyers found shocking even by Saudi standards of justice, has provoked a rare public debate about the treatment of women here.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/...ca/16saudi.php

Our politics certainly creates some strange bedfellows

[mwmmilford]

I so wish I could protect that woman - man - give me the whip and those guys would suffer - daamnnnnnnn!

[thunder65mike]

Originally Posted by stumbler

In a very rare move the US has joined Canada in criticizing Saudi Arabia, our strongest Middle East ally, by protesting the prison sentence and lashing of a 19 year old woman who was gang raped along with the man she was caught alone with. In the latest developments her lashing has been increased to 200 lashes because her lawyer filed an appeal claiming the rape victim's sentence was to harsh while her attackers sentences were to lenient.

A Saudi court on Tuesday more than doubled the number of lashes that a female rape victim was sentenced to last year after her lawyer appealed the original sentence. The decision, which many lawyers found shocking even by Saudi standards of justice, has provoked a rare public debate about the treatment of women here.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/...ca/16saudi.php

Our politics certainly creates some strange bedfellows

This makes me glad I live in the usa.

[Kimiko]

Originally Posted by thunder65mike

This makes me glad I live in the usa.

Yeah, where our government fully and unequivocally supports the Saudi regime, despite all of their bloviating about democracy.

This story is appalling.

[raider05]

Originally Posted by thunder65mike

This makes me glad I live in the usa.

Pshhh this government is one of the most appalling in the world. Look who it allies with, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Pakistan. In my opinion Israel is the equivalent of the old South Africa. Many Jews I know are also appalled by its actions. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia commit many human rights violations. We don't do anything about it though, instead we encourage their behavior through military and business investments (we've payed Israel in hundreds of billions of military investments). Does the US do anything about Sudan? Nope. Did they do anything about South Africa willingly? Nope, it was the American public that forced them to act. But sure they'll stop a dictator in a country with lots of oil, a dictator that just happened to not be allied with us like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are. In in these modern cases most Americans are poisoned by our media and goverment into agreeing with them, thinking that opposing Israel makes you an anti-Semite , and that all Arabs except the Saudis and Pakistanis are bad. Our goverment is in fact a racist goverment, plain and simple. Iran will be next without a doubt. Oh yea, guess what Iran used to be our best friend during the Cold War, during which they were ruled by an evil dictator.

Not bashing you at all here Thundermike, just proving a point that our country helps encourage these actions. I've known about this whole Saudi Arabia slashing incedent for a while to, but only because I listen to BBC World Service just about every day. I don't think the American media covered this at all. I think people really need to stop watching CNN, Fox News, CBS, or NBC. These don't show people at all what is really happening around the world. Hop on the internet and listen/read BBC News, or other relatively unbiased world news platforms.

[Kimiko]

Originally Posted by raider05

Pshhh this government is one of the most appalling in the world. Look who it allies with, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Pakistan. In my opinion Israel is the equivalent of the old South Africa. Many Jews I know are also appalled by its actions. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia commit many human rights violations. We don't do anything about it though, instead we encourage their behavior through military and business investments (we've payed Israel in hundreds of billions of military investments). Does the US do anything about Sudan? Nope. Did they do anything about South Africa willingly? Nope, it was the American public that forced them to act. But sure they'll stop a dictator in a country with lots of oil, a dictator that just happened to not be allied with us like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are. In in these modern cases most Americans are poisoned by our media and goverment into agreeing with them, thinking that opposing Israel makes you an anti-Semite , and that all Arabs except the Saudis and Pakistanis are bad. Our goverment is in fact a racist goverment, plain and simple. Iran will be next without a doubt. Oh yea, guess what Iran used to be our best friend during the Cold War, during which they were ruled by an evil dictator.

Not bashing you at all here Thundermike, just proving a point that our country helps encourage these actions. I've known about this whole Saudi Arabia slashing incedent for a while to, but only because I listen to BBC World Service just about every day. I don't think the American media covered this at all. I think people really need to stop watching CNN, Fox News, CBS, or NBC. These don't show people at all what is really happening around the world. Hop on the internet and listen/read BBC News, or other relatively unbiased world news platforms.

You need to hurry and grow older, so you can start running things.

[raider05]

:D I agree, if I were older I wouldn't have to take Calculus next semester.

[Kimiko]

Originally Posted by raider05

:D I agree, if I were older I wouldn't have to take Calculus next semester.

Calculus isn't so bad...it's really quite logical, and even useful, once you get the hang of it.

By the way, I travel to Europe quite a bit, and it always amazes me when I'm forced there to rely on different media outlets (the BBC, Reuters, etc.). It's like you're on another planet. Americans have been the victims of decades of propaganda.

[stumbler]

Originally Posted by Kimiko

Yeah, where our government fully and unequivocally supports the Saudi regime, despite all of their bloviating about democracy.

This story is appalling.

I could not believe this story when I happened on it and see the US as being very weak and hypocritical in their dealings with the Saudis. I have been outraged about our response to our supposed ally ever since Desert Storm when US servicemen had to walk on egg shells to to offend them. They could not display crosses or stars of David. They had to hold religious services in secret and could not even so much as have a copy of Playboy Magazine.

I thought it was absolutely appalling that the US would enforce all these restrictions when we were supposedly there to save their asses.

Originally Posted by raider05

Pshhh this government is one of the most appalling in the world. Look who it allies with, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Pakistan. In my opinion Israel is the equivalent of the old South Africa. Many Jews I know are also appalled by its actions. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia commit many human rights violations. We don't do anything about it though, instead we encourage their behavior through military and business investments (we've payed Israel in hundreds of billions of military investments). Does the US do anything about Sudan? Nope. Did they do anything about South Africa willingly? Nope, it was the American public that forced them to act. But sure they'll stop a dictator in a country with lots of oil, a dictator that just happened to not be allied with us like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are. In in these modern cases most Americans are poisoned by our media and goverment into agreeing with them, thinking that opposing Israel makes you an anti-Semite , and that all Arabs except the Saudis and Pakistanis are bad. Our goverment is in fact a racist goverment, plain and simple. Iran will be next without a doubt. Oh yea, guess what Iran used to be our best friend during the Cold War, during which they were ruled by an evil dictator.

Not bashing you at all here Thundermike, just proving a point that our country helps encourage these actions. I've known about this whole Saudi Arabia slashing incedent for a while to, but only because I listen to BBC World Service just about every day. I don't think the American media covered this at all. I think people really need to stop watching CNN, Fox News, CBS, or NBC. These don't show people at all what is really happening around the world. Hop on the internet and listen/read BBC News, or other relatively unbiased world news platforms.

I think this is a great post and that's all I need to say.