Child abuse in Jordan?

Saudi Arabia: It’s not just the Women Who Need the Mahrem

AMERICA BEDU provides some fascinating information on American women falling in love with Saudi students abroad – the things they might not know, and the questions they should ask themselves. For example, has the girl met the student’s family, especially female members? The American might not know about the prohibition on Saudi’s – or stern words of warning given in every school – about marrying or being intimate with foreign women, or that such intimacy can imply a lack of respect. She writes: “The American woman does not realize that by having an intimate relationship with her he is not showing her any respect and damaging her reputation. The American woman does not realize that by having an intimate relationship with her he is likely planning on leaving her without much of a backward glance once his term of studies has finished. He will have charming and soothing and perhaps hopeful words but his words will not be followed through upon” And concludes with some aplomb: “The female Saudi student requires a male mahrem to accompany her out of the country. Perhaps the same rule should apply in reverse to the Saudi male student. Maybe he should have his mother, sister, Aunt or Grandmother accompany him?”

Why “Compromise” Is A Dirty Word

BEIRUTSPRING quotes Lebanon Now on the “C-word”: “Compromise blurs. Compromise muddies the waters. Compromise has taken government and the rule of law away from the corridors of the constitution and placed it in the bazaar, where barter and sleight of hand is king. It has paralyzed the public sector, slowed economic development and hastened the brain drain. Indeed, compromise has taken Lebanon from the promise of a new era of democracy and sovereignty to the brink of the abyss.”

Thinking Like a Lebanese

A pretty spectacular cartoon about what passes for normal conversation in Lebanon.