by
  • The Buraida girl has shockingly decided to accept her marriage to the 80-year-old man. The girl’s divorced mother also dropped a bombshell by withdrawing the lawsuit she had filed to annul the marriage. Abdulrahman al-Lahem says the government should intervene based on its power and commitment to international accords on child rights that it has signed. UPDATE: HRC said they have assigned a new lawyer to the case, and added that just because the mother withdrew the lawsuit doesn’t mean the case is over.
  • I have always said that the Kingdom of Segregation makes for some awkward moments, but this one is just hilarious: Al-Mass’ad lodged a complaint with the police calling on them to take Al-Rubai “under their wing” until he gives up his alleged “Satanic” views which reveal him as an “enemy of the religion.” Actually, this silly story offers a really good representation of the ideological crisis in our country.
  • Caryle Murphy takes a look at how Saudi women use the internet to interact, connect, learn, and express themselves in many different ways. The story includes a couple of quotes by yours truly.
  • Barack Obama has fundamentally altered the way a president deals with the news media, NYT says, as he has made a concerted effort to tap into alternative avenues, including blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. In his first year in office he gave more than 160 interviews. Now compare this to how Saudi officials and leaders deal with the media. I mean, seriously, do officials here even care to speak to people every now and then? They don’t.