www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Our Saudi Allies 'Promoting Equality' and 'Freedom'

Saudi Cops Grab U.S. Woman In Starbucks
Feb. 7, 2008
(CBS)

An American businesswoman was carted off to jail by religious police in Saudi Arabia for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks in Riyadh, the Times of London reported.

The woman, who spent a day behind bars, was strip-searched and forced to sign a false confession before being released, the newspaper said. The Times declined to publish her name at her request.

The 37-year-old businesswoman works for a finance company in Riyadh. Her problem began when her office lost electricity. She and her male colleagues then went to a nearby Starbucks to use the coffee shop's Internet connection.

She sat with a male colleague in the Starbucks' family area, the only place women are allowed to sit with men.

�Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked 'Why are you here together?' I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin,� she told the Times.

Following her arrest and interrogation, the woman was hauled before a judge.

�He said 'You are sinful and you are going to burn in hell.' I told him I was sorry. I was very submissive. I had given up. I felt hopeless,� she told the Times.

The newspaper said the woman had received a visit from officials at the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia. A U.S. official told The Times that it was being treated as �an internal Saudi matter� and refused to comment on her case.

And at the same time, Iran has recently taken positive steps to improve their human rights record http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080206/wl_mideast_afp/iranjusticerights

Our Saudi allies. Sheesh.

I think we need to tell them to wise up and accept that there is an international community and such things will simply not be accepted now. Every other nation should bind together and refuse to do buisness as usual until they get smart!
Stephanos I

ALTHOUHG I'd support Paul, he has no chance of inning. McCain is on th forefront for th Republicans, and Huckabee is now second.

My queasiton will be this, will ROmney Supproters now vote McCain, or Huckabee?

I'd still eithe of them, than eithe rof hte Dmocrats.

A cost-effective, environmentally sound alternative to Oil would do the trick nicely. Too bad we didn't start looking for one in the '70s, when the "oil crisis" hit the U.S.

Having worked for a national lab, I can tell you that most of the research into energy alternatives in the 70s was a boondoggle. Those programs blew money left and right, but produced little of value. The fusion research dept. next to me had beautiful furniture and offices, though. Seems like Islam was less of a threat when the oil producers had less money.

Utterly Brilliant! [rsnews.net] His and Hers sidewalks. What will the think of next?

They can't leave the house without one of their male members of family

However - they can't walk in the street with them ?? Men on one side and women on the other ?????

aaaaaah the age of enlightenment is on us

I read an autobiography of a bin Laden wife... not THE bin Laden, but one of his many, many, MANY brothers...

To go literally accross the street to visit one of her sister-in-laws it was expected that she would "veil up" get in the car (still in the garage) and be driven accross the street, into the garage, before getting out of the car the garage door would be closed, and then she could proceed with the visit... before repeating the same routine for the return trip. (Yes, we are talking about driving from one driveway to the next, houses opposite each other...)

Now keep in mind, she lived in a compound that was ALL family which was gated and well outside of town!

Honestly, I think that it is just expected that, day to day, most women will simply NOT leave the house.

Muslim women at Yale University recently appealed and was approved to have the Gymnasium locked for 1 hour so they could excercise without males being present.They said it made them uncomfortable.I would think if they could afford a Yale education they would either assimilate or join CURVES!?

Saner minds at least prevailed when it came to the petition to develop a class schedule that is informed by Muslim prayer times.

If that is a primary concern, you will have to schedule them around your private concerns... Just like the rest of us who did are darndest to never have to get out of bed before noon on Fridays.

SS:

I, for one, have no trouble getting out of bed on FRIDAY--now MONDAY, that's a horse of another color.

BOB

Bob you have to understand... where I went to school the weekend began around noon on Thursday, and ended around noon on Monday... If I could help it, I simply scheduled no classes on Mondays... at least none before the afternoon.

Mispent youth!

(sigh)