As many Saudis would agree, unemployment is a serious crisis that is on the increase for quite sometime, with the market’s focus on cheap foreign labor and -sometimes- ignoring the Saudi laws regarding the minimum needed percentage of Saudi employees.

In Saturday’s show, guests writer Sa’ad Al Dosari and Dr.Hasan Al Ajami (both famous for their writing in different local news papers) criticized the lack of compliance, cooperation and initiatives of the ministries and authorities, holding them responsible for the unemployment rise, and asking them to abide by their “patriotic responsibilities” to help the Saudi youth.

According to several local and Middle Eastern sources (found -in Arabic- here, here and here) Hoda Al Hamid was fired from her job, and the rest of the cast were given warnings. The content of the show (in Arabic) can be found after the jump.

The first part and second part of the show are in Arabic, i can’t find a version with English subtitles (for the none-arabic reader)

To summarize the points discussed in the show:

. The Ministries of Saudi Arabia are not doing their best in providing more job opportunities to the unemployed and fresh graduates, limiting the number of available jobs vs the number of applicants.

. The Ministries are NOT implementing the “Saudization” policies properly, and its actions and initiative towards enforcing those polices are almost negligible, since the number of companies evading it, or not doing it at all, are increasing. Most of these violating companies are in the private sector.

. Setting the early years of Aramco as an example, almost no companies or government authorities are doing the same initiatives of taking in fresh graduates and training them to be more productive in the company.

I honestly believe that the voiceless were finally given a voice to speak of the struggles they go through, and all this to only find a job that pays LESS than the logical minimal wage (which is not fully acknowledged in the kingdom). Unemployment issues in Saudi Arabia are usually muffled in the printed and visual Media, and never do they take their fair share of discussion in regards to : The causes, What should’ve been vs. what is happening, and on whom does the responsibility fall.

The online community already suffers a good case of of pessimism towards the future of media in Saudi Arabia, and So far, there’s a steady increase in what seems to be the only source of realistic reactions and opinions through Social Media (like this Twitter Hashtag). In a reality that is threatened with censorship, the ports to speak out are shrinking, and Hoda Al Hamid (the show’s producer) paid her job (ironically, unemployed) for the sake of what her job description really is.

And with authorities that are not big fans of any kind of criticism, this is highly probable.

Currently, questions are showering the Media Minister’s twitter account about the reality of this story, but no confirmation yet. Personally, i doubt he’ll answer, because i think i already know his excuse.

What can you do to help?

. Bookmark this blog post to stay updated with the latest developments.

. Write a blog and express your opinion and how this case makes you feel, about you or your job (incase you’re in a related field). Send me a link to your blog and i’ll post it here.

. Start a Facebook page, or contribute to the Twitter trend, and demand answers on the reality of this story. If this is true, why was a reporter fired for merely “reporting” what we’re all witnessing first hand?

. The least you can do at this stage is share this blog, and the links of the news in this blog post, with all your friends and get this case it’s needed exposure to alert the higher authorities of such a threat to the integrity of reporting news and facts, and most importantly, the TRUE feelings of those affected by unemployment.

I’ll be updating you regularly as soon as more updates surface, and I really hope that this is not what it seems, a blind future for the moody-media, reporting fiction, never facts.

|| Progress ||

News is starting to pour in from various sources and an AlArabiya (MBC Group) media personality, that the Minister is bringing the show, and all of its team, back on air after a suspension that lasted all through last week. There is no official updates from Hoda Al Hamid herself, but this is as good as news can get at this stage.

And if this indicates anything, it indicates promising success in getting the cause heard. Have an almost-Congratulations, and i’ll keep the updates coming in.

Sources: ShreetNews . AlTaif Electronic News

Yours,
Lou..

Almost a week ago, Mtv released a video report about the Saudi Youth (or what it wants to give out as the typical stereotypes) and created a huge tidal wave that took Saudi networks and coffee shop discussions by storm..

What many managed to forget, and i tried to clear out before, Mtv is not doing this for any journalistic excellence award, nor are they interested in creating a change more than do what their job description is.. Create a fuss, and reap the cash out of the publicity (be it good or bad).. And that, my friends, has been the plan.. There, conspiracy revealed..

And guess what, the general reaction to the video fell victim, and reactions were the same favorite three (in no particular order):

1. Blame the jews (or Zion, or Barney the Dinosaur, or Chuck Norris)
2. Blame the world for allowing this to happen(since they’re all in it to support Mtv’s political campaign to over throw the evil regimes of the world, and ca$h out the social reform)
3. Blame the lack of ethics of those who chose to appear (or lack of pure blood, i kid you not)

So, in the light of the Blame’track we’re in, allow me to exercise my generic Saudi birth right..

i’d like to send a shout-out and blame you and you and you.. All of you..

It’s becoming evident that we tend to choose the sensational way to solve our problem (most of us, to be more accurate).. We’re less likely to agree on a public discussion of any matter, but we’re more likely to agree on utilizing hate..

During the past few days, the local media caught attention of the storming social networks over the video, and like always, highlighted the almost-typical reaction of Saudi towards the “sin-flaunting infidels”..
A local newspaper reported on Friday that a group of conservative Saudis are planning to file a lawsuit against the group, claiming they are making their sinful activities public. A member of the group was quoted as saying that this case was similar to another case that happened in October. -ArabNews
An official source in the District Court in Jeddah said that it would consider Saudis’ call for a lawsuit against the US channel in the event of a formal referral by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution. -MiddleEast Online
Instead of openly discussing what is wrong with our social fabric and trying to figure out a way not to be easily exploited, we never seem to agree on anything that doesn’t involve pitchforks..

We never seem to agree on filing lawsuits against the financial war-zone of treason we like to call a “stock market”..
We never agree on filing anything against the lack of consumer rights, or the exploitation of which..
We can’t even agree on filing a class-action lawsuit against those responsible of the floods (plural).. When it comes to sex and/or religion, however, we’re an army.. As if that’s the only thing ruining our peace of mind..

Heck, the national day caused more intentional physical mess than any “happy nationalistic country” would expect, and what did we do about it? Nada.. Zelch.. Zero.. As if it was some bad dream..

All of us, apparently, are religious police officers, who are confident and able and well-educated religiously to be able of deeming anyone worthy of heaven or hell.. It only takes us a few days to come out with a verdict, and boy, do we make sure we make it loud enough to be heard..

We use Facebook, Message Boards and even email forwards.. We’re active, alright..

Was there any consideration to discuss this? Why bother? The verdict is already unanimous.. It’s one of two:

1. Anti-religion demons..
or (the ever occurring)..
2. Not pure Saudis to deserve the nationality (it was used once to blame for the jeddah floods, as a god-sent doom to sinners)

“every original Saudi who’s originally from this peninsula, blood and birth, can never be like this”

Which is interesting, actually.. Do you have to be a pure Saudi to be religious? or do you have to be religious to be a pure Saudi? Am not decided, maybe you guys can help me solve this one..

How amazing we are on focusing on the trivial, and how fast we become blind to see any bigger pictures..

One thing i noticed, however.. How many of us praised the one part of the video that seemed to make sense? You know, Ahmed fighting the system from the inside, trying to set an example of using your brain to actually solve the social stigma we live in?

No, we decided to focus on one thing.. The fact that most of his books are banned in Saudi, thus, the guy is a brainwashed looney as well..

Never knew a woman’s right to take part of her country as an actual citizen would be a zionist ideology.. Maybe i missed Conspiracy Theory 101..

I knew better than to be angry on Mtv, because like i said, it’s Mtv.. But i can’t help but feel frustrated to the same story happening every time we get a slight chance of debating an issue.. Nonetheless, our love to argue surpasses our love for anything else..

My comical relief was only satisfied by the one clip i remember resembling closely who we are and what our initial reaction of anything would always be.. (most of us, straying away from any generalizations)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIaORknS1Dk[/youtube]

Of course, the comment box is all set and ready for your thoughts.. You’ll have to type them, however, as much of a turn-off that sounds..

Yours,
Lou..

Going through the full episode of the show, you can’t help but notice a none-steady vibe that the directors are giving out.. Of course, coming from them, they like to think of themselves as Journalists.. There should be some sort of quality coming along such a title, something that i didn’t notice in this video..

Yesterday, i expressed my initial thoughts about the show, and today, am going through the different parts of the full episode, trying to see how well does their message fly through to the end..

[Full episode can be viewed on the Mtv website, right here.. Tried to share it, but it kept redirecting the video to the 13 minute promo]

Fatima

Just a small fact correction.. Back in the 80′s, the fashion of colored Abayas were introduced to the public.. The colors were not as trendy as Fatima’s, or the composition of such, but the idea was there before.. So, being a witness of an 80′s abaya revolution, i don’t think this revolution is anymore more than a Fashion Comeback..

However, she did manage to bring out some valid points about Saudi Arabia.. The situation for women has become so complicated and overlooked, that it might take civil disobedience to send out a message.. I’m referring to the bicycle ride, not the abayas.. I don’t see her Abayas designs as revolutionary, more than complementary..

I mean, for me, i already stated my thoughts on the Abaya.. Any action taking change a step forward would be to promote modest fashion choices, and letting go of the robe.. I mean, it’s hot enough out there, and women are more involved socially than they were 10 years ago, so times might need some trimming around the edges.. We can witness Muslim women around the world, and follow their lead in breaking out from the social norm, while keeping in check with the religious..

Breeze of the Dying

Rock and Heavy Metal is becoming an underground musical phenomena in Saudi Arabia, to the extent of having at least 5 bands in every major city.. Despite my own musical preference (really not my taste in music, but nonetheless) they’re actually gathering quite a following.. Socially and online.. However, i think very few of their fans actually KNOW what these guys are growling about.. I attended a couple, out of curiosity, and it wasn’t a good experience.. Especially that some chose these events as their “get my freaky self out there” and you’d see all sorts of weird social stunts.. The attempt of the video to show the meaning of their lyrics did a good job, actually..

I saw it with a friend, and he was like “Really?” and i was like “Yeah”, and he was like “wow, really?” and i was like “Yeah dude” -Mtv

I do agree with the video on one point though, we do lack an understanding to what the youth are choosing as hobbies, disregarding what we don’t get, and neglecting it’s right to have a reason to be there.. Most of us are not clear where religion stands on this point, let alone traditions and culture (which apparently approve any musical concert that is dedicated to the king and the royal family)..

This issue was served on golden platter, because it does come from a part of society that no one is addressing.. And when addressed, Satan has to be in the sentence somewhere..

One of the hilarious parts, the part with the Zen of Screaming DVD and that woman with the growling techniques.. That just floored me..

Ahmed

Amongst all those interviewed, this man seemed the most balanced and most focused on his objectives.. I actually liked his segment, since his choice of words did not leave any room for editing.. He was direct, straight to the point, and his cause can’t be any stronger..

We need a society, that stands for the society.. Men standing out for the rights of women, and women standing out for the rights of their city, and the city standing out for the rights of it’s people.. It’s simple, in theory, yet practice seems to be troublesome.. And I, for one, can say that it’s worth the trouble..

For the most part, the show should’ve focused more on his segment, because he’s part of the many ways to the cure of our social diseases.. We need to address our problems head on, clearly knowing our objective, and knowing exactly what to do and where to do it, to get the change to be permanent.. Not some sort fling..

Speaking of flings..

Aziz

Just as soon as the video makes a good build up, and grabs your attention in listening to what it has to offer, they flopped the scales and introduced this segment..

By far, this is one of the reasons why i spoke negatively about the show.. It was very evident of their choice of people that they want to rub them in the general public’s face, despite having a good cause, or a bad cause..

Starting off with the guy complaining about his love life.. And then the camera rolls around the car to give a little piece of who he is (collectively), the Marijuana dog tag, and an Obama slogan stroke me as “Media Spawn”, Comparing his life to The Titanic, and has George Micheal as an ideal look to look like..

We have allot of his type in Saudi Arabia, seeking change with no solid grounds on what change is, and how it should be.. Change for the sake of change, despite it’s religious or social factors.. Blame it on social education, government, or his own understanding, but most of our youth are as lost as this guy.. Which is our responsibility to fix, before a channel like Mtv exploits it to this disgusting level..

I can’t deny, he does have some few valid points about his questioning to the public understanding of religion.. But some other points are actually an unintended expression of his own confusion about religion..

At one part of the video, the editing was lousy and showed the content being taken out of context.. “The youth are oppressed” and then cut to the segment “we need to respect our religion” and then ending the segment with “The compromises that need to be done in the modern time”..

What compromises? Dating? Doesn’t that undermine what religion has to say about your “Quest to find love”?

The funny thing, it clicked with me that there was allot of staging and fake dramatizations in this segment of the show.. Especially the part with Aziz sitting in the trunk of his car, logging online, while there is no 3G modem connected and no WiFi signal (having personally been in that same parking lot and tried to find a wifi connection to kill time, and didn’t find any, which was the reason why i delayed my full review.. I actually wanted to make sure )..

The phone calls were fake, and the worries he expressed were staged.. It suddenly switched from True Life, to The Bachelor (which is what Mtv does best, staging “real life” drama).. All to fit the dramatic image the video aims to deliver, and this guy was the proper mime to do so..

[ Open letter to Mtv ]

Maybe somewhere around the line of trying to understand Islam, the team behind the video failed to do any kind of homework.. And the intent behind the video keeps on changing from one segment to another, which is causing more confusion than solutions.. Especially that it’s targeting youth from both far ends of the world..

What was the intent of stuffing in the Mosque footage in the beginning of each segment, and in the end of each segment? Really, what am i supposed to get? Saudi is an Islamic country? Islam in Saudi Arabia? Saudi is like this BECAUSE it’s an islamic country?

If you made a simple survey, trying to ask those people if they think Religion is behind their problems, or is it the country, you’d be surprised.. But i know you won’t ask, because your agenda seems so clear to show that both Islam and Saudi Arabia are the problem.. But seriously, if you ever consider making a survey, it’s for free on SurveyMoneky.. Really, i kid you not..

Maybe i failed to link with the overall context of things, but it was rude and showed the little you know about Islam.. Any professional grade journalist would actually think TWICE before adding background music to Prayer azan (rock music, nonetheless), incase you didn’t see any islamic coverage on any news channel.. Seriously, show the respect a “journalist” would show.. Claiming that this sensational over-priced YouTube production as journalism, is like depending on The Kingdom movie to know any solid facts about Saudi Culture.. And this is the thing, it’s a social past-time activity show, with no political grounds to stand on, and suddenly True Life became Saudi Watch or Eye on Islam..

The video was unprofessional, Shallow, and does nothing but deliver raw images as is (a picture slid show would suffice).. For the video, it doesn’t matter if there’s any contextual inconsistency, doesn’t matter if the next segment undermines the segment before, doesn’t matter if the issues all together are not clear about their scope.. Maybe if they separated each one in his own part and episode, we wouldn’t have to deal with an Hour being wasted like this..

It’s the lame production, and little work that was done, trying to sum generations of problems in a buffered one hour video, thinking they’d do the youth help by allowing some form of televised justice.. Yet, looking at the comments on videos, apparently the Saudi youth are not the targets, their the show’s main attraction for an international audience..

[Open Letter to Saudis] (ok, maybe an Open Paragraph )

But i couldn’t care less about that, more than me caring how WE reflect on what we see on this video.. However, i can’t fully blame Mtv for having us served like that, because we served ourselves like that on a golden platter..

What will we do about this regard? Or we going down the path of disregard?

Yours,
Lou..

Recently, MTV Arabia released a new part in it’s True Life series, discussing sensitive social issues of Saudi Arabia..

Honestly, am not very decided on how much i like (or hate) the show in general, or this segment in specific.. It took social networks by storm, and everyone posting the links with either their full support, disgust or neutrality.. It did stimulate the fuss intended, afterall, MTV is a profit earning company with a certain target, and that they achieved..

But, how much were they “Right on the money”?

At first glance, i really didn’t know how to react to the videos.. The main direction of the videos were not clear, since they were halfway in between targeting core social issues and being provocative to how we should approach them.. I loved it, at first, but then the general direction and premise of the video, however, annoyed me.. Some things were manipulated and given a form of it’s own..

Feeding off the people’s lack of understanding of some religious stand points on certain issues (some of which are the ones discussed above), and using that weakness to provoke the youth to rebel against it.. To Saudi Arabia, and many of it’s citizens, the line between what’s traditional law and what’s Sharia law is blurry.. Not one side seems to understand the separation between the two..

Are we supposed to rebel against man-made traditions? (the Abaya color and design, women rights in general)
..or Are we supposed to rebel against Sharia? (premarital intimate relationships)

The video does not indicate those lines, nor does it help provoke open discussion of those lines.. It’s just presenting the lives of four “courageous” people who chose to “Resist the Power”.. Either they’re confused on what’s religious and what’s not (Aziz), or they have a clear focus on what the problem is and how it should be addressed (the others, so far, since the show isn’t complete yet)

For example, I oppose the idea of the Abaya as an “Islamic dress code” because, it’s simply not.. Islam is pretty clear about the head vail, but what about the dress code?

Islam asks us to be modest in the way we dress (nothing tight or revealing), and we should avoid any dress that attracts sexual attraction or attention.. In Islam, it applies to both sexes, yet in Saudi Arabia, Women are the sex objects, and thus must be tamed by a dress, while Men must be shunned for having a penis..

Then again, i just want to clear that it’s not the message that i had a problem with, it’s the way it was presented.. The dialogue was nothing close to constructive, nor did it seem to aim for gradual reform.. This “In your Face” approach works to a certain extent, given that we should have enough brain power to push the agenda all the way to the end.. Something we seem to need more than to overwhelm ourselves with the number of problems, rather than addressing what made those problems surface..

In the end, i guess it’s just Mtv being Mtv, supporting any counter culture to their targeted demographic.. Mtv’s agenda is clear, and having an Arabia channel is not any different.. To me, Mtv is the counter culture mainstream rapists who seek nothing but money, by all means necessary (any publicity is good publicity).. Even if it means being popular amongst a completely confused demographic (quite a big number in this country)..

Because of our general negligence we have towards these issues, socially and/or governmentally, we’re reaping the results of having such youth.. Some of which i feel proud to be amongst (miracles), and some i feel like knocking some reality sense into..

I can speak for hours on this issue, so i’ll stop here..

What about you? Any Thoughts?

Yours,
Lou..

p.s. You can find the prologue video embedded in my blog (i didn’t know how to copy it here, not that familiar with WordPress)..

It took the Arab world more than 20 days to suddenly wake up and hold a meeting about the situation in Gaza. Back when the Gaza crisis started, a GCC meeting was held with no regard to the situation’s seriousness. They finished their commercial merge ups, shared the wealth, and then headed back to their getaways.

20 days later, they realized that the situation is too serious to ignore any much longer, and yet they conflict at when and where should the summit be held.

Is it really that hard to decide an URGENT meeting?

Some say that they’re hand tied in not doing anything about it. Then, it would be natural to pursue achieving anything in a Financial summit, favoring its attendance to discuss Gaza, claiming that it has been thought about and planned for for a year now.

Is it really Priorities or Politics?

Come to think of it.. Was Gaza really a SUDDEN turn of events?
How many Arab Summits were held discussing the Palestinian Issue?
How many conclusions and decision were made?

.. How many actually saw this coming and “zipped” it?

Looking at the recent Arab Summit, it’s now visibly seen on Television what drives us weaker and weaker. We can’t even agree on our stand towards what Hamas’s actions represent, achieve or pays on the expense of the people they seek to protect.. We can’t even get the to next point without telling everyone, This is MY view, screw YOUR view.

However, what personally ticked me off, is this call for sympathy with Hamas, in the Summit and in society.

On what basis should i sympathize with Hamas? On their lack of any strategic thinking? On their lack of military power? On their “tactical” choice of threatening with Suicide bombers? On their methods of Hiding from the enemy, deeper into heavily populated areas?

Moreover, If you take a look at the social stand point of the people, it’s either you SUPPORT Hamas and pray for their success, or don’t do anything about it.. I saw allot of the latter, but i also faced a fair share from those who supported Hamas.. What about supporting the victims? choosing their side isn’t an option anymore?

1000+ people died until now.. What are Hamas goal’s exactly? Signing a truce, cutting back your losses, especially when you’re weak, is a strategic move. Logic, Rationality and even Islam agrees with that.. This, easily, makes anyone doubt their understanding of Islam, which is supposedly the doctrine they work by. I doubt it, since their actions are in complete conflict with what Islam tells us in such times of war.

Surrendering is a strategic advantage, and can reduce the blood shed until people are intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically strong. Strong enough to be able to reply, and wise enough to know how to deal with such a country that is a gathering of blood thirsty warmongers.

We’re mentally, spiritually and intellectually weak. Scattered on every view. If we still conflict in our understanding of Islam, and we fail to stand together as a Muslim community, do you really think we’d do any better in uniting under the Arab flag?

Moreover, Raw power, which is Hamas in this case, is futile. Unguided and unplanned, it can cause more damage than the good.

Speculating on a fact here.. I wonder, would things have taken a different path if Sheikh Ahmed Yaseen was still alive?

I mean, he didn’t stray deep into turning a Resistance group into a political authority. Which doesn’t seem the case with what seems to be the hidden agenda of Hamas’s current leadership.

On the other hand, Israel showed before, and it’s showing again, that rules don’t apply if you’re “their” alley.. Doesn’t matter to which side, because the world has turned into two major groups, An Alley and an Enemy.. As a Result, Israel shows another new bloody display of its allegiance as the Terror State of the free world.

Now comes the confusing part where society parts..

What are WE doing to help? We can’t even protest, which is much more logical than boycotting a locally used, operated and supplied Chillies. Thinking that those Fajitas are bullet money to kill us..

The new ideology that seems to be a trend: donate your money, donate your blood, sing a song, make a video clip, and write a poem, and your obligations end there. Any or All of the above, according to how much spare time you have. As a result, you think you’re relieved and you paid your obligations, and now You can freely celebrate the winning of your national team over a football championship.

This “Microwave” instant solution hype isn’t our key of salvation from the guilt that rides over us every time we watch Television, nor is it a cure to the disease that eats us from within.. an Issue like Gaza needs years of building and preparation and in-depth efforts to help, not just give our Money surplus and then go back to our daily lives, turning a blind eye to the mess we’re in.. Much studies and much approaches and much growth in all fields should be accomplished, if we are to achieve anything civilized towards how we see and want to solve this issue.. Not to blind our selves from other disasters that still happen across the world, and the Muslim world in specific.. We fix ourselves to face those problems, not face those problems while we’re weak against our ill understanding of things, or our wants and needs.

I don’t mean to interrupt those many young men that I saw in the streets, wearing Santa clause hats in Tahlia Street in Jeddah, saying their greetings joking about Christmas.. Those guys seem to be in an identity spiral that needs therapy.. But I mean to wake you up to the fact that Gaza’s blood is dripping from everyone’s hands.

I won’t say that I blame Israel.. I won’t say that I blame Hamas.. I won’t say that i blame the world, the Arab leaders in specific.. They’re all to blame.. We’re also included, with how we react to such an issue, what we do and what we spread around.

And Guess what, the mainstreamed hype of Boycotting Israeli, or Pro-Israel American, products proves that we know nothing about commerce, about the world, and about how this war is actually funded.. It proves no points what so ever, especially that most of these boycotts are initiated under false pretenses, masked by Islam.. Falling under the idea that if you boycott the products listed in a forwarded email, given verbal, non-factual, guarantees that these products are Zionist, would reduce the amount of funding the “war on terror” receives. But that’s a different topic that may take us off course now.

Israel claims to be in “defense”, While Hamas claims to score high casualties on the Israeli side.. Sadly, the number of innocent Palestinian Women and Children nearly flood the screens..

..When’s the wake-up call, again?

Yours,
Lou

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duLds-TZMGw[/youtube]

I haven’t laughed this hard, while watching the news, in a while.. a long while actually..

Now, before anyone stresses the point, i don’t personally agree with what the reporter did.. However, it’s too “poetic” that it sure is funny as hell.. And for Arabs, the message this action delivered is too.. I don’t know, Arab.. See, for Arabs, this is considered a major offense, and it represents the idea that the person being thrown at is lower than low, and is not welcome at all.. But i guess, when looking at the US Iraq Invasion timeline (yes, it’s an invasion), Bush had this coming..

I mean, It’s ironic.. How the US can practically rape any country that fits that alleged “Profile” of terror, backed by the poor tax payers money, inflicting all it can from damage, culturally, socially, physically and financially, all under the white flag of “Protecting Peace, Fighting terror, and anyone who’s a threat to our way of life”.. Moreover, the foreign policy used by the Bush Administration made sure that THEY are a threat to everyone else’s way of life.. Stepping over everything, causing societies to crumble from the inside, For all the corrupt causes and reasons, any country in the middle east can be tomorrow’s target.. How many are being taken down in progress so far?

And Financially, this was has been a disaster.. More money has been paid to fund war, causing ridiculous amount of casualties from both sides for too long.. How much have been paid to aid the reconstruction of Iraq? an approximate 20% of what have been paid for war.. And after all this, Bush actually had the retarded logic to travel all the way to the ruins of Iraq, and prance around the microphone claiming that the US did progress in dealing with the threat and putting Iraq back on its feet? Does the x-president read the news? Iraq is eating itself from the outside.. Yeah, crunching the numbers, it seems like indeed the fuel and food levels in Iraq now have returned to what they used to be before the ’03 invasion.. But have you seen the people lately? the struggling government? Things are literally “going down”. You’d expect the people to be angry, and If you’re an Arab, you’d expect a shoe flying right at you if you actually agree with what Bush is saying.

I wonder, if it was better for the reporter to be shot on site in self-defense of the president other than being held in custody.. Because God only knows the kind of hell he’ll be going through.. The locals would see him as a hero by now, and for the Arab world and the rest who share the same opinion, that reporter had summed in one action what we all wanted say.. I can say that metaphorically, the guy delivered what I had in mind about Bush’s presence in the Middle east in General, and his recent visit to Iraq in specific.. Makes me wonder if the action was actually meant to be delivered that way to deliver a message more than to actually hurt him.

On another note, Bush really impressed me with his fast reaction.. He had the fast reflexes of a cat, and a brain of a walrus, and a human-like sense of humor when he commented on the shoe size.. And i guess this should be added to Bush’s wall of achievements.. And it’s probably a first in any presidential history.. There’ve been people who were assassinated, nearly bombed away, poisoned, physically attacked.. But a Shoe?

Congratulations George Jr, You did it again, you made your father proud too.. A glorious end for a “glorious” 8 year presidency.. As for the secret service has another item added to the “morally” fatal weapons to frisk for..

Finally, my message to the reporter:

You did, on our behalf, what none had the guts to do, Arabs and non-Arabs allike.. Thank you, in a way..

Yours,
Lou..

1) Will Saudi Arabia ever acknowledge the term “Minimum Wage”?
2) Who came up with the color coding of genders? White thobes for men, and “black” Abaya (robe) for women?
3) Why is (Saudi) Arabia one of the few, if not the only, countries named after a Person?
4) What’s the percentage of Saudi citizens that see women as actual human beings with rights and obligations, socially and domestically?
5) Will tribalism be an obstacle or an incentive to help develop the kingdom?
6) Is it a far fetched dream to see a Saudi Janitor in a mall or a company?
7) Will Saudi stop using the Hajj Visa process as an excuse for illegal immigrants and do something about it?
8 ) How many malls are there in Saudi? in Jeddah alone?
9) Is there a public garden in Saudi that is well maintained, green, non-vandlisied and doesn’t give you any kind of sickness?
10) Consumerism to be rated as the second highest religion in practice by Saudis after Islam?
11) Interest Free Islamic Banks?
12) Why is small ranks in the Police force are considered unemployment solutions for those who didn’t complete anything more than a Highschool Diploma, in best cases? Put in mind how much authority they have..
13) Will most national football teams settle for a Coach for more than 6 months before blaming him for everything?
14) If there’s a clothing line made specifically for Men, why can’t these men buy anything if Malls are restricted for Families Only? Is it a privilege for the married man only?
15) Weed, Hash and Opium are illegal drugs.. Why are we selling Rolling Smoking Papers in every store?
16) If it’s ok to hire a Muslim maid, from any nationality, will there be a Saudi Maid?
17) Why does the police departments main offices CLOSE after 2 pm? Criminals have working hours too?
18) Saudi airlines have “Fragile” stickers.. Why do they write in a small font “Saudi Airlines is not responsible for the damage of items with this sticker”?
19) Are we capable of knowing the difference between what’s PURELY cultural and what’s religious?
20) Free non-profit infomercials by the government and has a good message to deliver? With a budget more than a lousy 3000 SR, please..
21) If you happen to drive on a sunny day, and an old traffic sign fell on your car and broke your windshield, Why do YOU have to pay for the windshield AND the sign?

Take your best shot , in the mean time, I’ll be off to my Honeymoon.. I’ll see you guys in a Month Insha’allah

Yours,
Lou..

The Legal procedure of marriage in Saudi is in two parts, a legally-approved Religious part and a Legal part, and knowing how complex this process can be, one would think the computerized environment would help better it. Well, it would, but is it going to be utilized in that department any time soon?

Other than the old Stamp and Sign procedure with the Marriage Certificate, a paper-back booklet, the remaining steps still remain in the Stamp and Sign. When you’re in the Civilian Affairs Office, Your legal papers have to be signed by an individual and stacked in a folder. Eventually, that folder will be stacked over the other hundred folders until someone takes them to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and logs them in. Notice how the process even avoids the use of Telephones, which are used only for the chatting employees. The only computerized thing about the whole place is the mobiles of the citizens who got bored from waiting, and started checking their falling stock.

The working hours of the office begins from 7 am, you’ll wait in a long long long line, waiting to get a number, with the possibility of the person in charge of handing them out yelling that the numbers for the National ID, for instance, are out and everyone should come tomorrow. Or suddenly pointing out that if you wanted to get a certain issue done, it’s done in the other part of town. When you get your number, you’re given the proper forms and asked to sit down, fill them up and wait until the employees arrive. They arrived at 9 am.

Now, looking through the marriage process, you’re asked to get copies of every legal paper, fill a form, get a picture, dump your folder with a person who stacks it in the folder, and then you’re asked to CHECK the next day, or the same day after Dhu’hur prayer.. However, the process never finishes in a day, being that it’s taken to another office, that uses an old cashier-like XEROX printer to print your name and information. The next day, another person would get a stack of certificates and then call out names, and later on organize them in a wooden box according to the Arabic alphabets.

Nothing’s computerized so far? well, the numbers you take and wait with in line are shown on an LED screen.. Happy now?

Assuming that you were told to come back After Dhu’hur prayer, you’re not expected to leave the office and pray and come back.. No sir. Why? because they stop taking citizens in AFTER the prayer, and only those inside will get their deal done. And that’s all the working hours of the office. A lousy, unproductive, 3 and a half hours.

I had a conversation with a very “happy” citizen, saying that he gave them his papers to add his daughter to his Folder, and they happen to lose his photocopied ID. They stopped his process for 2 weeks now, while he went to Makkah and came back thinking it’s all over.

Ironically, thinking of the Flentstones City Hall scenes, they used Historic technologies to achieve modern-day tasks.. However, we choose to finish our work in the most historic way possible, while leaving those modern-day technologies aside.. Unless there’s an interesting game of Solitaire that people are betting on.. Moreover, you’d be able to skip the whole process by knowing the right people, or by going to any smaller city or county in the kingdom and get it done in less than an hour. Amazing how advanced the kingdom is, and how it manages to keep such a stupid infrastructure in one piece.

I got my Marriage certificate finally, and thinking am done with all this bull, They seem to keep a small gift intact.. They logged me in the record as a 170 cm tall male, with hazle eyes.. However, am 185 cm tall with dark brown eyes.. It’s ok, i guess i can live with this legal distortion.. Since they told me happily that i’ll have to change the papers Anyways to the new small Card format, but they had to finish the remaining Old certificates, since they think it’s a waste of resources to throw all of that away.. And they say Saudis have it easy, wait till a Foreigner tells you how his process goes.

Does marriage seem that appealing now that you’ve lived through a semi-3-day story? Single N Proud should get a kick out of this

Yours,
Lou

Driving around the kingdom, in any city you choose, you’d have to come across a reckless driver or two, maybe another who forgot to use his signals.. Bad driving is becoming the attribute of most citizens of Saudi Arabia.. In some cities, you’d be numb to react to the many violations done in every flash light, per second.. I guess, it’s more of the Asphalt Jungle.. Survival of the “Fastest”.. Everybody’s driving like they’re on the run, ALL THE TIME.. As if they’re having imaginary babies..

I don’t know anymore.. I blamed the police force allot, but i guess it’s about time i gave the citizens a piece of my mind.. But first, a question..

If you’re Saudi, how did you acquire your license? And have you heard of anyone who acquired his without going through the trouble of the ACTUAL procedure?

It’s commonly known around our cities that many Saudis pass the test without even knowing any traffic signs or rules? Most of the driving signs seem like characters from a dead language to these guys.. It seriously seems as if we have an OCD for breaking the traffic rules..

In any street of the major cities in Saudi, you’d have to see at least one, if not all, of these types of drivers:

- Those who suddenly realized they want to turn right, while they’re at the further lane on the left.. Then react by driving in-front of everyone at the traffic light, while it’s RED, and gets near the u-turn..

- Those who slowly drag their wheels, waiting for the red light to turn green, until they step over the walking lane, and then practically drive through a red light slowly.. Just until they blocked half the lane of the intersecting street..

- The Speed runner.. Who doesn’t wait a second after the light turns green, and he’ll shower you down with beaming headlights, and/or blowing your ears out with his horn.. Always on a hurry, yet punctuality isn’t one of our traits.. Makes you wonder..

And i could go on and on, listing stereotypes of drivers that we got used to.. i had a conversation a while back with a friend of mine, he mentioned that even foreigners drive badly in the city too.. I don’t know about his “Cursed Peninsula” theory, but i think if foreign visitors of the kingdom who might be here for business or pleasure, they’d happen to see the citizens driving in a retarded way, it would grow on them.. Why should they be any better?

Come to think of it, what happened to “Be the Change you want to Be”? or what Jeddah’s municipality slogan; “We’re All Responsible”.. People should stop pointing fingers, and remember to flash the signal lights more often.. I swear, you never see it in the streets unless it’s an emergency.. Most of the them, to be truthful.. Why? Because there ARE good drivers out there, but even them have to suffer the idiotic driving of most Saudis..

However, things don’t stop at stupid driving.. Car Related accidents are one of the highest numbers in the kingdom’s surveys.. The first number mentioned gives the number of car related accidents in the year 2007.. reckless driving is becoming the number one source of deaths in Saudi, with the a terrifying rate of traffic accidents per day.. More people die on the streets, and the numbers seem to decrease very slowly..

Speculating on the issue, you’d see that it’s mostly blamed on the lack of knowledge of proper driving.. Citizens of Saudi, if i were you, i’d sue Dallah Driving School, or any equivalent, for ever issuing a Driver license without having the driver take an official test, and actually drive the damn teaching car.. Maybe you, reader, did go through one, but what about that other guy who used his “connections” to go straight to the officer and get it signed?

The second number mentioned gives the number of deaths because of car accidents..

An average of 18 deaths per day, 1 death per hour.. Mostly in young men between the ages of 18 and 29.. it’s more common to die because of an accident, than to be shot or stabbed..

How many died already as we speak?

Yours,

Lou..

When your around for Modern muslim images, You’d expect a picture of some angry mob burning down a chinese made American flag, or a turban wearing bearded fellow who’s yelling the name of Allah while waving around a sword, which are indeed some of the many images Islam is being portrayed in these days.. But Am not talking about that kind of Stereotyping, people already talked about it enough..

What am talking about is the Stereotyping of Islam that our society, Saudi Arabia, and the muslim and non muslim societies in general have of any religious figure..

(google a picture of the Religious Authority in Saudi)

When did islam turn into a dress-coded religion? Have we adopted the fact that when someone turns religious, there’s a certain uniform he has to wear?

The thobe, The Ega’al-less Shumakh, the White Ghutra, The Robe (Bisht).. All of the above, if you’re that much religious..

Mind you the inconvenience it may cause to new muslims in non-arab countries, Islam is a flexible religion that is no need of a dress code, our muslim actions and behavior speak loud enough of who we are and what we do.. Restricting our thoughts and imagination to the idea that you have to be a Thobe-Wearing muslim to be a Complete muslim is silly, to even wear that to enter Heaven is stupid.. I came across many Muslims and Muslim reverts who all agree on the fact that the Thobe is the official muslim uniform.. It’s NOT.. Simple, see?

Ok, maybe other heavenly religions already adopted certain uniforms that categorizes it’s participants.. You have the White Collared priests, the Black Hatted Jews, and the Orange-like monks of Tibet and so on.. Islam, however, never specified a certain type of clothing more than rules on what you should wear and how you should wear it, unless you’re off to Hajj or Umra.. For example, preaching of islam’s dress codes that preach modesty, as a muslim i shouldn’t let any piece of clothing i wear (if it happens to cover my legs) to exceed my ankles..This is to Avoid the image that abundance in length is a sign of luxury, in opposition of the poverty image of small shredded clothes.. I should stay away from certain fabrics that gloat of my social status and stick to practical ones that help me do my daily tasks.. i can be stylish, but fabrics like Silk for instance, shouldn’t be used by a man.. I should also refrain from clothing that doesn’t belong to my gender in the common understanding of clothing.. Yes, travesties can’t be muslims..

However, it is not mentioned in Islam nor in different sayings of the prophet PBUH that you should wear a thobe and/or a ghutra.. You can shop from Giordano, buy some Sketchers, wear a Puma and still be a muslim.. a Devoted muslim too.. See, in Islam, we don’t need clothes to speak of who we are, like i mentioned before, it’s our actions.. Like for example, the shaved Mustache and the beard (that should be as long as a closed fist placed under one’s chin) are a sign of someone who’s deeply knowledgeable in Islam and highly devoted; it’s not the Thobe..

My message now goes straight to the new muslim reverts, The thobe is not the Muslim wear, so don’t throw away your clothes just yet.. I met several new muslim reverts who told me that they actually stopped buying pants and shirts ever since they became muslim.. Some of them actually suffered going through the process of tailoring one.. Now, all this fashion journey to nowhere leads to no where.. Islam is not that hard, nor it requires all this mumbo jumbo arabian image to fully be a Muslim..

Another part of this problem lies In Saudi Arabia, Where many still believe that the Thobe and Ghutra are a sign or religiousness, while casual t-shirts and Jeans are just silly arabs trying to act American.. Not western, specifically american.. And that is both wrong and stupid.. Last time i checked, when i wore a thobe in my Engagement, it serves the point of showing that am Celebrating, since i had those textures tailored on it as ornaments, and it gives out that am a Saudi on a special occasion.. Doesn’t mean that am more muslim than anyone else.. Plus, in despite of the pros, the cons are that the thobe is very restricting in movement, not that practical and it’s highly flammable.. So, even if islam wanted a uniform, that would be my last choice.. It’s ok as a cultural trademark, The greek culture has their own set of flammable threads too, it’s just clothes.. The only clothing in Islam that has been specified in the Quran and Sunna is the Ehram.. Other than that, go wild, within the limits of course, which is another topic..

Sticking to the topic in hand..

a Fat bearded muslim, wearing the whole gear, thobe and a Ega’al-less shumakh, walking around dragging his wife behind him and beating his kids, while still having time to pray to Allah, ironically, is in no way similar to another Muslim, wearing the whole gear, and good to his wife and son..

When we actually start believing that a certain dress code is a true representation of a school of thought or a spiritual religion, subconsciously and consciously we’d start to believe that the actions of those who wear it are true representations of it.. Which is wrong..

Anyone knows if there’s a Banana Republic opening in Jeddah soon?
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Yours,

Lou..

p.s. i miss you guys