Category News

Gold Digger

Despite their frustration with our role in Iraq, the Bush administration seems more than willing to sell us $20 billion worth of advanced weapons. While the Congress is expected to oppose the deal when notified about it this fall, and some lawmakers have already said they plan to stop it, everything seem rather quiet around here.

rice_drinking

I don’t have much more to say about this than what Mahmood said, but it is really sad that no one here seems to give two shits about this. Why no one is objecting to spending this huge amount of money on weapons which we can’t use when we better invest in our younger generations, the future of this country?

Quickies

Just some short commentary on some stories from Arab News today:

5 Women and Two Men Held in Buraidah
Saudi security forces on Thursday detained five women and two men in an incident that officials linked to weapons possession but which an activist said followed a sit-in by the women.

My friend Rasheed writes about the story that has been making the headlines in the blogosphere in the past few days. Unfortunately, they don’t offer much more than what we already know. Many people here are very disappointed with the way the government chose to deal with this issue. It is sad that none of the Arabic newspaper here has reported the story.

The Hospitality of Justice
I conclude this article with a request to my dear brothers and sisters. You must visit the general court in Jeddah to see for yourselves the truth of what’s happening there. And I’m sure that will only increase your trust in the judicial system and induce you to join me in my prayers for them to live long and remain always alert, concerned about people’s rights and making sure they are not denied justice. Amen.

When I read this column by Amr al-Faisal when it appeared first in al-Watan a few days ago, I immediately recalled my own suffering when I had to do some work at the court here two years ago. It was exactly the way he described it, if not worse. We have been saying for a long time that the whole legal system is in desperate need to be reformed. The new code that was released few months ago was a good, though small, step in the right direction, but we are yet to see a real change.

Citizens Complain About Poor DSL Services
A number of citizens are calling on Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and various service-providing companies to provide better DSL services. “We pay a lot of money but we get poor service and technical problems,” said one Saudi quoted in a report recently in Al-Watan daily whose name was not given.

They have been complaining about it for a long time and I’m afraid they will be for until other companies enter the market to end STC monopoly. As far as I can recall, the new telcos to operate in the kingdom soon will be allowed to build their own cable networks. So till then, I think STC will continue to cut their prices, and that’s as much as they can do because looking back at their history they have never been interested in improving their services.

TV Told Not to Promote Regionalism
Abdullah Al-Jasser, undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture and Information, has criticized Saudi owners of satellite channels for promoting regionalism in a recent press statement. He charged them with promoting narrow-minded regionalism.

This is not the first time Abdullah al-Jasser says something absurd, and most probably won’t be the last time. This is the same guy who described electronic media as “dangerous” and was very excited to take part in some Arab meeting to monitor the internet. The man seems irritated about the appearance of some local TV channels without his ministry’s permission, and irritated even more about the fact that he can’t ban them.

Women and Reformist Lawyer Arrested

Following their demonstration outside a state security HQ in Qassim, Rima al-Juraish and four other women were arrested today. Moreover, Abdullah al-Hamid, a well-known reformist and attorney of Rima al-Juraish’s husband Mohammed al-Hamily, was also arrested. Al-Hamid, who was previously jailed in the past after demanding constitutional reforms but was later pardoned by King Abdullah, has asked the authorities to allow his family to bring him his medicines. Read more here and here (Arabic).

UPDATE: The Interior Ministry have issued a statement confirming the arrests, claiming they took place after a search for weapons at Juraish’s home which uncovered three machine guns, three revolvers and some ammunition. However, it is said that it was the security forces themselves who brought the weapons when they raided the house at dawn, then planted them in a sofa and under floor tiles before arresting the group.

Jeddah Film Festival

green monster picIf you are in Jeddah these days, you don’t want to miss this event: the 2nd Jeddah Film Festival or Jeddah Visual Shows Festival, as it is called, was opened at the Ismail Abudawood auditorium at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) last night and will run until Friday. They will be showing 48 films of different lengths and types, including some interesting titles such as “Women Without Shadows” by Haifaa al-Mansour. Arab News have the festival’s schedule, and you can find their official website here. Lucky Jeddawis, I’m officially green with envy!

Women Demonstrate in Qassim

Fifteen women and seven children have demonstrated outside a state security HQ demanding a fair public trial for their husbands, stop torture, and transfer them back to a local prison. Fouad al-Farhan, the blogger who has been on hiatus for a long time and now is back, broke the story on his blog.

This is important because it is the first time for women to hold a public demonstration in protest in Saudi Arabia. I doubt that mainstream media would actually cover the story, and hence it is important to spread the word online in blogs and forums. Go to Fouad’s blog now and sign your name in support of these women, and make sure this reaches as many people as possible.

UPDATE: Reuters confirmed the story.

RIYADH, July 16 (Reuters) – Wives of Saudi men detained on suspicion of links to militant groups complained to the authorities on Monday, saying their husbands should be released or face a public trial, families said.

“Our husbands and sons are in prison … We have sent telegrams and we’ve gone to the Human Rights Commission but it’s useless. So we are staging this sit-in,” Rima al-Juraish said by telephone. She said she was speaking from outside a state security headquarters in the Qassim region north of Riyadh.

She said the women wanted cases involving their families brought to court, legal representation for the men, an end to “mistreatment” and their return to a local prison.

Juraish said the detainees, who have been held for periods ranging from two to five years, were removed to Riyadh last month for induction in a “correction” programme run by clerics that authorities say has led more than 700 suspects to “repent”.