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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 9:30 am Post subject: |
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Sounds like a fun place to live Scot. Still not LA though. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 1:03 pm Post subject: Kevlar vests, anyone? |
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Dear Gordon,
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Still not LA though |
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True - but considering that many/most of the victims of drive-by shootings in LA are young blacks/Hispanics, I suspect identifiable ex-pats in the Kingdom are beginning to get some notion of what it might be like to be a black or Hispanic gang member in East LA.
"A total of 677 adolescents and children were shot at, among whom 429 (63 percent) had gunshot wounds and 36 (5.3 percent) died from their injuries. Three hundred three of those with gunshot wounds (71 percent) were gang members. Arms and legs were the areas of the body most commonly injured. Handguns were the most frequently used type of firearm. All the homicide victims were African American or Hispanic, and 97 percent were boys. African American and Hispanic children and adolescents, especially male gang members, had a significantly higher risk than their Asian and white counterparts of injury and death from drive-by shootings in Los Angeles."
I know that if I were still there, I'd be getting more and more nervous about being on the streets.
Regards,
John |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003 Posts: 3657 Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 1:17 pm Post subject: |
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One good thing about being a chick in the K of SA is that you can flip the scarf over your face and nobody will have a clue where you come from!
Also, I may be naive (though I'm not usually criticised for that particular vice!) but I do feel that as a woman, you are much less likely to be a target. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 1:34 pm Post subject: Mama mia! |
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Dear Cleopatra,
Holy Moley - you've done what I'd thought would be impossible: come up with an advantage to being a woman in the Kingdom.
Regards,
John |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Well,
This works for the drive-by/walk-by shooters, but car bombs manage to hit their fellow Muslims of either sex who are in range.
Scary times-----
VS |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003 Posts: 3657 Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 1:48 pm Post subject: |
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Actually, there are a few, John.
They include: never having to worry about what to wear,
never having to get too concerned if you didn't have time to wash your hair, and... that's it really... |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 3:41 pm Post subject: Here's to the Ladies |
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Dear Cleopatra,
I found your words inspiring:
Kingdom Ladies
Sure, being a gal in the Kingdom ain�t easy.
The abayas are drab and the guys are so sleazy.
The matawas�ll beat you if you show your hair,
All those rules and restrictions are very unfair.
But being a gal has some plusses, as well
There�s an upside to everything, even in hell.
The abaya that makes you so sweaty and hot
Can also keep you from getting shot.
You don�t have to worry about what to wear,
And ma fi mushkila for unwashed hair.
Then there�s all that make-up you won�t have to buy
And no one�ll see when you break down and cry.
So count the blessings of being your gender
And, when things get tough, well, go on a bender
A little sediki, light on the mixer
Is just what a lady needs to fix her.
It�ll make even Riyadh seem like Fun City.
It�ll make even Riyadh seem pleasant and pretty.
And, of course, the next morning when you arise,
That abaya will cover your bloodshot eyes.
So ladies, the next time you mutter a curse,
Remember � it could be much, much worse.
The Kingdom�s no picnic, I think we�ll agree
But the money you make there is still all tax-free.
And your time there in that strangest nation
Is of a limited duration.
The local ladies have no such reprieve.
They have to stay, while you can leave.
Regards,
John |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003 Posts: 3657 Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Well, John, looks like - at long last - my dream has come true (!) and I have become somebody's "muse"!
I love the poem - I will save it and send it to anyone familiar with a lady's lot in the K of SA. Or even anyone who is not. You might want to get copyright now. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 5:59 pm Post subject: In Tribute |
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Dear Cleopatra,
Well, it's not every day you can be mused and amused at one and the same time. But copyright - bah, humbug. It's my tribute, free and clear, to all those stalwart ex-pat ladies who make the Kingdom their temporary home.
You're tougher than I am, gals.
Regards,
John |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 7:02 am Post subject: relevant ! |
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I am sure that Adam's comment is deeply relevant but I am a bit slow on the uptake. Perhaps he could expand on it ?
Or could it be that case that he has ingested too many harmful chemicals ? |
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Mark100
Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 441
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 10:10 am Post subject: |
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I think his comment was edited.
I saw some long winded comment about Arabs but this has since disappeared and from the little i read rightly so.
Back to the main issue, Has GB no regard for us expats who have to live and work in the ME?
Everyday he and his mate Blair make things worse.
Sharon has also been doing a fair bit of damage as well.
The end result is that some Arabs feel justified in randomly attacking civilian westerners in response to what they see as a totally lopsided approach by the US and its allies in dealing with ME issues.
It will only take one reasonably significant incident in the eastern province to clear the area of western expats as most people are decidedly edgy.
It is not a matter of "if" anymore but rather "when" |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 10:21 am Post subject: alas |
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I fear the last poster is right. It is a question of time before something aimed against westerners happens in Eastern KSA. This could be a bombing or a drive-by shooting or something different. Some innocent parties will pay for the lunacies of Bush and Blair.
That shooting in Riyadh un-nerved me more than anything - and I have been around for a while.
As for Adam's post - I notice a few of his other posts have ended up as (...) Has he said something naughty ? |
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Paul in Saudi
Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 404 Location: Doha, Qatar
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 11:37 am Post subject: |
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The Bad Guys will hit more and more of us. There seems little doubt about that.
On the other hand, blaming GB and TB for somehow causing people to decide to do evil seem very strange to me. I would blame the criminals for criminal activity. But that is just me, I could be wrong. |
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Cleopatra
Joined: 28 Jun 2003 Posts: 3657 Location: Tuamago Archipelago
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Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 11:52 am Post subject: |
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I think we all blame criminals for criminal activity, Paul. Invading a country which posed you no threat on false pretexts, and then doing a catastrophic job of occupation, thereby enflaming a whole rigion which was already enraged at the US for its unconditional support of Israel and the Gulf dictatorships, is pretty high on my list of "criminal activities".
And if you don't think that the actions of Bush and his British proxy have anything at all to do with what has been going on in KSA, how come things have got so bad recently? Can't be mere coincidence? Obviously, none of this excuses the shootings and bombings one little bit, but to deny any connection to recent US/British actions in the ME seems disingeneous to me.
Incidentally, I don't think using phrases like "bad guys" and "evil" help our discussion very much. |
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