Saudi Women Given Right To Vote

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah granted women in the country the right to vote.  He also gave women the right to run for public office.  In a statement on state television, he said:

“We refuse to marginalize the role of women in Saudi society in every field of work.  Women have the right to submit their candidacy for municipal council membership and have the right to take part in submitting candidates in accordance with Shariah.”

As it stands in 2011, due to the way Saudi's interpret Sunni Islam, women are highly restricted in their day to day life.  Saudi women are not allowed to drive.  Men and women are segregated in all aspects of activity.  Law mandates that women go to their own schools, restaurants, and even shopping malls.

Women are forbidden from holding positions in many fields in the job market.  This is, unless they are servicing the needs of another woman, of course.  

So, it remains to be seen how this is going to play itself out.  This was a nice gesture on the part of King Abdullah, but, unless monumental changes to women's rights take place in Saudi Arabia in the next few months, his actions will be nothing more but that - a gesture.

How will a Saudi woman win a public office, when she's legally not allowed to work the sales counter at a men's clothing store, or even cut a gentleman's hair in a salon?  How will women in Saudi Arabia have a say at the polls when they have to rely on their husbands to drive them to cast their ballot?

This Just In: The Phoenix Area Is Full Of Ha-BOOBS

As some of you may have seen in the last couple of weeks, we've been hit by a couple of massive dust storms here in the Phoenix area.  It's a regular occurrence that the city gets hit by a "wall of dirt" during the Summer months.  Some of these dust storms can be up to a mile high, and 40-50 miles across.

During this Summer season, meteorologists and news outlets have used the word "haboob" when referring to the larger of these events.  A haboob is defined as:

"A strong wind that occurs along the southern edges of the Sahara in The Sudan and is associated with large sandstorms and dust storms and may be accompanied by thunderstorms. It usually lasts about three hours, is most common during the summer, and may blow from any direction. A haboob may transport huge quantities of sand or dust, which move as a dense wall that can reach a height of 900 metres (about 3,000 feet). The term haboob is taken from the Arabic word habb meaning wind."

Since "haboob" has it's roots in the Middle East, the use of the word is pissing off a lot of 'Mur'Kins here in Arizona.  For the record, Arizona, the Phoenix area especially, is deeply rooted within the Republican party.  A large portion of the population is xenophobic, Islamaphobic and generally doesn't like the idea of "foreigners" tinkering with their way of life.

That being said, the Arizona Republic has received a number of letters complaining of the word's usage.  Sadly, they have printed many of them.  What an embarrassment to this state.  Don Yonts of Gilbert, AZ, wrote:

"While other countries in the world may call them that, this is the United States    Even more, this is Arizona, not some Middle Eastern nation. I am insulted that local TV news crews are now calling this kind of storm a haboob. How do they think our soldiers feel coming back to Arizona and hearing some Middle Eastern term that is clearly an Arizona phenomenon."

Diane Robinson of Wickenburg, takes it one step further, saying:

"Excuse me, Mr. Weatherman!

Who gave you the right to use the word "haboob" in describing our recent dust storm?

While you may think there are similarities, don't forget that in these parts our dust is mixed with the whoop of the Indian's dance, the progression of the cattle herd and warning of the rattlesnake as it lifts its head to strike.

We have our own culture, too, sir, and we don't take kindly to being robbed of it."

Oh, yes.  Think of "the Indians".  I love how someone by the name of "Robinson" is claiming how the "Indian's dance" is part of her culture.  She's not even politically correct in referring to the local Native American tribes that have been forced to open casinos to provide for their people.  And she's the one being robbed.

Never mind the fact that these dust storms occur during what everyone here refers to our "Monsoon Season".  By the way, "monsoon" is an Arabic word.  So are sugar, alcohol, soda, tuna, algebra and adobe (one of the prevalent styles of homes here in the area).  Oh, and our entire number system originated in the Middle East.  If not for our Arabic speaking forefathers, we would still be using Roman numerals.

In other Phoenix area news, we're expecting a high temperature of CVI today with a XXX to XL percent chance of rain tomorrow.

I am so disgusted with this fucking state.

Putting My Head Around The Situation In The Middle East: Bahrain

***WARNING:  This post contains some very graphic footage of people being injured and/or murdered.  In regards to the videos, some are NSFW and carry a viewer discretion advisory.  I will post a separate warning before any such video.***

2011 has so far been a very newsworthy year when it comes to the Middle East.  In just six weeks, both Tunisia and Egypt have successfully, and, for the most part, peacefully, fought for their democracy and independence.  Yemenis have been protesting for weeks, but due to a mixture of apathy and fear, the crowds have dramatically diminished.  Yesterday's protest numbered only at about 2,000, compared to hundreds of thousands at the height of the protests.

Within the last ten days, the protests in Bahrain and Libya have been making news, but for all of the wrong reasons.  Unfortunately, because of the nature of what is happening in Libya, the news on Bahrain has been on the back burner in the last week.  Let me fill you in, because the two are really quite similar.

Bahrain is ruled by a monarchy.  There is a popular based parliament system, but it is effectively useless.  The ruling party are Sunni Muslims, yet the vast majority of Bahrain's citizens are Shiite Muslims.  The Sunni based government has gone so far in recent years, that they have brought in Sunnis from other countries to build up the population in the country.  Protests started on February 14th, with small protests here and there, but didn't start in earnest until February 17th.

Early that morning, the government immediately responded with violence, firing tear gas and beating protesters with batons.  In the first day, it was reported that four people had been killed , 231 were injured, and 70 were reported missing.   By the early morning hours of the 18th, the orders were given by the royal family to start using live ammunition on the protesters.  No one was immune.  Everyone was a target:  protesters, journalists, medics, and even people in funeral processions.  This is a video that was taken in the streets of Manama, Bahrain, and posted on Youtube on February 18th.

***Warning:  This video contains violent and graphic footage.  Viewer discretion is advised.***
At the 3:00 mark is when things start to turn violent.  Protesters see armored vehicles blocking the street ahead.  They hold their arms up to show that they are unarmed.  Then, they start shouting the words, "Peaceful.  Peaceful." in Arabic.  The military starts firing automatic weapons on the protesters, killing at least one, perhaps two men.  At around the 9:00 mark, you'll hear automatic gunfire again.  This time, they're firing at the ambulance.  It's quite intense.



The Bahraini Minister of Health, Faisal Mohamed al-Homor, made it illegal for ambulances or medics to pick up the dead or wounded.  This resulted in hundreds of doctors and nurses(in non-emergency roles) leaving their posts and joining the protesters to demand his resignation.

At the moment, the "official" count of the dead and wounded are 7 dead and 150 wounded.  Bahrainis, as well as most people that have been keeping a close eye on the protest, have been calling that number a very small fraction of the actual figure.  I personally have seen video of at least 5 deaths, and dozens of injured.  The reason why I say "at least" 5 dead is because I have seen video of probably 10-12 male bodies in hospital beds.  Some from similar angles.  Some from different angles.  It is hard to tell if some of these people are different videos of the same victim or not.  A couple appear to have similar injuries, but, a chest riddled with bird shot from a shotgun blast at close range would look similar in any case.

The following is a portion of a phone interview between Dr. Ghassan of Salmaniya Hospital in Manama, Bahrain, and Al Jazeera, on February 18th.  He paints a much more dire and realistic picture of what is actually is going on in the country.  Keep in mind that this was five days ago.  The video does not necessarily show any graphic footage.  It does show some footage of the protests, and of protesters carrying the body of one of the murdered demonstrators.  It may be a little uncomfortable to watch because the doctor in the interview becomes increasingly emotional.  It only brings home the point as to how desperate the situation is in Bahrain.



The hospital is so full of casualties, that they're taking the injured to makeshift triage units inside local theatres. Independent press coming out of the country is virtually non-existent.  Most media, if anything, has been coming via Youtube, or by rumor.  There are journalists on the ground in Manama, but they are either calling their stories in or reporting by email.

In any moment of chaos, rumors are bound to be rampant.  There is a rumor that has been gaining probably the most momentum within the capital city, and it has quite a bit of circumstantial evidence that is tough to swallow.  It appears that the Saudi army may have come in to Bahrain to assist the government by firing on the protesters and disposing of the bodies.  Numerous injured over the past few days have come in to hospitals claiming that they were shot or beaten by men dressed up in Saudi military uniforms.  Here is an interview with one such young man.  Keep in mind, I do not speak Arabic.  I do not know if the translation is accurate or not.  I am only going based upon the subtitles that are at the bottom of the screen.



As you heard, the Saudi army is being accused of not only shooting protesters, but filling vehicles with bodies to dispose of them.  This video was posted three days ago.  Another video surfaced on Youtube on the 19th, supposedly showing Saudi military vehicles on the highway between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.  According to the person posting, it was a caravan of personnel entering Bahrain.  Again, unsubstantiated, but if it's true, this is historic.



And last, and possibly the worst rumor to surface in the last couple of days is this.  Refrigerated trucks have been seen in Manama, with Saudi plates, guarded by Bahraini military personnel, loading dead bodies of protesters inside.  Those same trucks have been seen on the highway back to Saudi Arabia.  The rumors have been circulating for days now, and foreign journalists have doubted it all along. A couple of cell phone pictures have been taken, allegedly showing the trucks, such as this picture taken two days ago.  The three refrigerated trucks are parked, circled in the top left hand corner of the photo:

It wasn't until a reporter for the UK's Independent spoke with a male nurse that worked under the umbrella of the United Nations, that the story started to garner some credibility.  Not only did he confirm the allegations, but add that an American friend of his by the name of "Jerrod" videotaped bodies being thrown into the trucks and was arrested.  He has not been seen since.  That was a week ago.  The article goes on to hypothesize to some degree why the Saudi Arabian government would step in to essentially assist a neighbor country with genocide, and it has some very plausible arguments.

If these allegations are true, they go far beyond "human rights violations".  It is genocide, pure and simple.  If the rumors regarding the Saudi army are found to be true to any degree, we are seeing something take place that is on a level of Hitler and the Nazis.  Keep in mind, those are two words that I don't throw around lightly.  This goes way beyond Tunisia, and far beyond Mubarak.  There were 300 deaths in all of Egypt during 18 days of protests.  That was in a country of 80 million people. Bahrain has a population of 1.2 million people, and they have only been protesting for 9 days.  If there has been any good news to report, yesterday the King  released hundreds of political prisoners that have been in prison for protesting, blogging, and distributing materials against the government.

What upsets me is that there is absolutely no coverage regarding the unrest in Bahrain on US television.  Stories of Justin Bieber's haircut make national news, but this gets ignored.  I don't understand it.  How is this not important?  Can someone please explain this to me?

"Egypt Is Free!" "Egypt Is Free!"

For years, I have heard the saying, "The revolution will be televised", but I never thought I would actually see it.  In recent years, especially in the Middle East, a peaceful revolution often equates to a bloodbath.  It leads to an "open season" being called upon those in the streets, which, more often than not, are students.  People are arrested and tortured.  Some simply disappear, never to be seen again.

When Hosni Mubarak announced Thursday night that he was not leaving office, it appeared that Egypt would be  a repeat of what we have seen before.  The crowd of nearly a million, which had previously been peaceful, had become angry.  They had reached their limit.  There was talk of storming the offices of the state run television station and the presidential palace.  People in the Mubarak regime would pay with their lives.

That, fortunately, did not happen.  As the sun rose over Cairo, thousands remained in the streets and in Tahrir Square.  Tens of thousands more arrived at local mosques for Friday afternoon prayers.

So began the 18th day of protests in Tahrir Square.  Hundreds of thousands of people gathered together determined to obtain their freedom by any means necessary.  Up to this point, protests had been peaceful.  After Mubarak's refusal to leave office last night, it was increasing growing clear that the atmosphere was changing.  Senior military officials threatened to remove their uniforms and join the protesters last night.  Many soldiers on the street had already joined the protests.  With the exception of a couple of close allies within the government, Mubarak had no friends or protection from what was facing him on the other side of the Ministry walls.

Then at 3:19pm Cairo time, it is reported that Mubarak has left Cairo with his family for Sharm el-Sheikh.  Approximately an hour later, the government reports that soon an "urgent and important" statement would be released by the Egyptian presidency.  At 6:29pm, Vice President Suleiman makes the following statement on state run television.  It lasts only 30 seconds.  It's a paragraph long, and is so short, many Egyptians didn't hear it the first time it was spoken.  It changes the course of Middle Eastern history.

Within seconds, the nation of Egypt exploded into a frenzy of joy.  Tahrir Square became Liberation Square, and it became the nucleus for a party that lasted well into the middle of the night:

There are fireworks tonight over the skies of Cairo.  At the moment, it is currently a little after 3 in the morning there, and people are still dancing in the streets.  February 11, 2011, is their Independence Day.  Tonight, they are celebrating.  They are holding their loved ones, and remembering the 300 that gave their lives so that 80 million of their Egyptian brothers and sisters could have freedom.

The founders of the website 1000memories.com have set up a site called Egypt Remembers.  It is a very touching memorial of the 300 martyrs that were killed during the fight for democracy.  The site is trying to gather as much information about the victims as possible, including pictures, cause of death, occupation, and family information as it comes in.  It is heartbreaking to see how many of these people were just kids.  15, 16, and 17 years old.  Many were shot coming out of their mosque.  Some were shot or beaten on their way home from protests.  They deserve a look out of respect.

Egypt's future is uncertain.  At this point, we can be nothing but optimistic.  Today was a historic day for the people of Egypt, for the Middle East, and for the people of the world.  I feel privileged that I was alive to see such a monumental day in history.  Congratulations Egypt.  The people of the world are celebrating with you.