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POPSSaudi Arabia bans sale of dogs, cats in capital This reminds me of the old joke, "Why do Baptists disapprove of sex? It could lead to dancing." This is an example of religious governance leading to interference in what should be totally secular areas of life. Of course we in the west pamper and coddle our pets, and often react with revulsion at the notion that there are places in the world where dogs are food animals. It's slightly more understandable in the case of dogs, because Islam considers them unclean, but that doesn't explain the ban on cats as well. The story about the Chinese emperor who cut the sleeve from a priceless robe rather than disturb his sleeping kitten has also been told about Mohammed. The article also fails to explain why the law applies only to men. If they realized that by allowing women to own pets, they have a privelege men don't, the entire fabric of Saudi society could come unraveled.
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POPSIslam's Biggest Enemy Is The Muslims Themselves
U.N. Human Rights Council, the Saudi Shura Council raised objections, since reviling other religions is one of Islam's central precepts. "The ones who harm the Prophet are those who believe that woman is lewd, and that she detracts from the purity of prayer just like a dog or a donkey...and those who believe that a woman lacks intelligence. "The ones who harm the Prophet are the rulers of Arab states who have made their countries the last bastions of tyranny and dictatorship in the world, and who demand submission to religious texts to justify their crimes. "The ones who harm the Prophet do not live in the West - they are among us, the Muslims. It is the Muslims who have fashioned an Islamic model that is inherently terrorist, hypocritical, life-negating, and sustained by the murder of others in the name of jihad and by attacks on freedom of opinion under the pretext of defending Islamic national principles. This is what we - and no one else - have produced."
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POPSSaudis Pushing U.N. Démarche Against Israel The dispute over oil appears to be part of a larger rift between the two countries, with a London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi reporting recently that relations have reached their lowest point in years. The Saudis seek strong American backing against Iran," Mr. Gold, a former Israeli U.N. ambassador who has written extensively on the kingdom, said. "They don't want to hear from Condi Rice about diplomatic progress between Abbas and Israel. They want to know what America is doing about Iran." The Saudis, he said, base their policies on their strong alliance with America — or on Arab consensus. When the Israeli government earlier this month announced that it was planning to build nearly 900 new housing units in Jerusalem, ecretary-General Ban issued a strong statement: Israel's "continued construction in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory" violates international law and Israel's obligations under the road map and the Annapolis process.
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POPSCongress Shows How Clueless It Is, Once Again [continued[ or offshore, where another 30 billion await. If you think Congress' decision-making on energy couldn't get any worse, think again. While Bush was in Riyadh urging the Saudis to pump more oil, congressional Democrats were busy undercutting him, threatening to halt arms sales to our Mideast ally. If we don't sell arms to Saudi Arabia, Russia will. The result would be a loss of American leverage with the Saudis, who, like many, feel threatened by a nuclear Iran and the menace of al-Qaida. At least Bush convinced the Saudis to boost output 300,000 barrels a day. That helps. But we still have to do more ourselves. The U.S. uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day. But only 8 million come from our own sources. That leaves a 13-million-barrel-a-day deficit that, at $126 a barrel, will cost us $600 billion to plug this year. That's more than two-thirds of our total trade deficit.
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POPSYoung Saudi's "It offers young men very little in the way of entertainment, with no movie theaters and few sports facilities. If they are unmarried, they cannot even enter the malls where women shop." I can't believe the attitude of that last comment in this clip. With two or three words, a man can get what he wants from a woman?? Women are not rational?? "When a man joined her at the table — someone they assumed was her husband — she removed her face veil, which fueled Enad and Nader’s hostility. They continued to make mocking hand gestures and comments until the couple changed tables. Even then, the woman was so flustered she held the cloth self-consciously over her face throughout her meal. “Thank God our women are at home,” Enad said." Ok, I can't imagine a world in which women are required to stay at home all the time. Let's reverse the situation. Suppose MEN were required to stay in the home and all I had to look at were women in the workplace, in the shopping malls, etc. (cont)
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POPSLeaked Saudi View. 'Border dispute' Existing UN Resolutions Solution Prince Saud al-Faisal has been the discreet voice of Saudi Arabian diplomacy for more than 30 years, and he spoke with unchallenged authority at the recent meeting of the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers, giving what turned out to be a bleak assessment of the current negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The situation was "dire", he told the assembled dignitaries, including Condoleezza Rice, Tony Blair and Ban Ki-moon. "Many dangers loom. It seems we have reached a stage that I can only describe as a morass." Such pessimism is not big news, though Saud's gloomy remarks were made, characteristically, behind closed doors at London's Lancaster House. It is certainly hard to find anyone who harbours much hope that there is a way out of the current impasse. ... Guardian
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POPSManufactured Martyrdom - Iran "Kills" Aide to Muqtada al-Sadr It is significant Washington is being blamed and not the administration of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad as Tehran is using this to inspire more hatred (attacks) against the foreign led occupation. It is also significant this took place in the religious center of Najaf which will inspire even more hatred. This comes right after Thursday's statement by the Sadr movement saying they were "under siege" and warned they will end the ceasefire they imposed last August. Tehran is setting the stage for more attacks against the remaining British-U. S. troops in the country, an offensive Iran will be entering at least by launching missiles from Iran at UK/US bases.
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POPSIntellectuals Condemn Fatwa Against Writers Last month Saudi Arabia's Shura council threw out a proposal for a law promoting respect for other religions and religious symbols, apparently for fear it might lead to the building of churches. King Abdullah recently called for the first time for a dialogue among Muslims, Christians and Jews after discussing the idea with Pope Benedict XVI. But it was reported yesterday that the kingdom's leading official cleric, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, had denied issuing an invitation to Israeli rabbis to take part in a conference.
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POPSSaudis ban the color Red I wonder if that includes bloodshed. Notice the name of the commission that did the banning. That rings some bells. Of course in America a different tactic is required.
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POPSGeorge of Arabia What ever happened to all that retoric about "FREEDOM"... Saudi Arabia is the leader of the NON_FREE, SICK SOCIETY that is gushing money and trampling on any sense of freedom or human dignity. I hear that Bush has invited the King to his ranch for a little barbaque. Just a friendly kind of gesture. Right now I can't figure out who is sicker....them or us!
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POPS Bush delivers arms sale to Saudi Arabia So he's selling $20 billion in advanced U.S. weapons to authoritarian regimes... but at least he's spreading democracy. Why does it seem like a bad idea to pump another $20 billion of weapons and weapon technology into an already war-torn region? "Top among the reasons are the chaos in Iraq that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and the widespread Arab feeling that the United States is biased toward Israel and not serious in seeking Mideast peace." No! It's because they hate our FREEDOM! Not because we continue to occupy their holy land, pump weapons into their countries, and try to overthrow their governments... surely that has nothing to do with it. Last I heard, most of the hijackers who perpetrated the 9/11 tragedy were from Saudi Arabia and UAE, two of the countries we are now selling weapons to... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizers_of_the_September_11,_2001_attacks
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POPSSaudi King Pardons Rape Victim President Bush said that if the same thing happened to one of his daughters, he would be "angry at those who committed the crime. And I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim." I'm not a Bush supporter, but I am pleased to know that in this case he had done what is right. Kudos to Bush and King Abdullah.
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POPSWar on Witches The usual suspects ... "A year ago, the commission for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice (the religious police) in the Saudi city of Taif established a special department to combat witchcraft. So far, it has arrested 25 people - 24 of whom, interestingly, are non-Saudis."
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POPSCulling 4 million chickens won't stop bird flu in Arabia Very vigorous response by the Saudi's unfortunately, it will not guarantee keeping commercial poultry flocks free of avian flu. Vaccination will help but more novel or innovative means are called for. For example - they could stop raising chickens and other poultry for a year or so.
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