The beauty of the Universe...

Just came across this today on the 'net - photos from the Cassini spacecraft that is in orbit around Saturn (it's mission has been extended, and it is the Cassini Equinox).


Saturn Photos

NASA and the other space agencies get a lot for the little money that they are provided by their respective governments...and they get not just photos back but data that allows scientists to put their theories to the test about how the universe, and Earth formed billions of years ago. Cassini and the two martian rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) are just two programs that have earned their keep, and then some.

BTW - Spirit and Opportunity are still going strong five years after arriving on Mars (although Spirit has been having some computer problems over the last week). The were only supposed to last for 90 days...

If you get a chance, check out the JPL's website and see what the NASA/JPL team are doing.

Just a few things...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, there has been a few things going on that have distracted me from keeping the visitors to this blog up to date on things in KSA...

Dengue Fever has made an appearance here in KSA - according to the local press, only 139 people have been affected by it, with at least 2 fatalities. With the above normal rainfall over the last couple of weeks, the mosquito population is literally out of control, regardless of how much DDT is sprayed in the area. Best guess - add a zero or two to the numbers above for the true picture. Also, if Dengue Fever progresses to Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, your chances of survival are almost zero...

Police have been clashing with Shiite pilgrims in Medina and other cities - It's the Shiite - Sunni/Wahhabi communities (Wahhabi's look at Shiites as being infidels)protesting for equal rights, with the police stepping in and clashing with the Shiites. How long this can be kept in check is anyone's guess right now, but there are threats of strikes and other acts of disobedience to come if there is no change

Internet cafes and secret videotaping - The Ministry of Interior has made it mandatory for Internet cafe's to secretly videotape and provide then with records on patrons that use them. "Big Abdulla" is watching you surf on the 'net here....

and last, but not least...Hai'a to improve their image - The Hai'a (better known as the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) are trying to improve their public image... the matawa's work for this arm of the government and enforce religious law in KSA. I think that they have some way to go, with the public executions and beatings that they administer as punishment - anyone know of a good PR firm for hire?

BTW - the punishment for defacing the Saudi flag is 150 lashes and jail time - a foreigner was awarded that recently. And people get upset at home with how the flag is treated under "free speech" - at least they don't get flogged in public for burning the Stars and Stripes...

Some news from Saudi Arabia...

Here are a few newsworthy items from the Arab News (English language paper in KSA):

11 Al-Qaeda suspects arrested

End of Life debate

One other newsworthy item....about a week ago, there was a murder at a local store, about a mile from the compound. The murderer was the store owner - he had an obsession with a 11 year old boy who lived near by (pictures of the boy taken with a cell phone were found on the suspect's computer). The father of the boy sent him to the store to pick up a few items for dinner; when the boy got to the store, he was sexually assaulted and choked to death by the owner. The father, wondering where his son was, went to the store and found his son dead on the floor. He confronted the store owner, who proceeded to kill the father with a meat cleaver, then locked up the store and escaped. Members of the family found the father and son at the store, and called the police, who were successful in apprehending the store owner.

According to my Saudi co-worker, the suspect, if found guilty (an almost sure thing) will be executed - and supposedly in the neighborhood where it happened. As you are aware, execution is done by decapitation, and it is a public event. What is not known by many Westerners is that there are two types of execution - the typical "Hollywood" style of execution, and a slower version (that many Westerner's that have been captives of the Taliban and Al Qaeda)...

I wonder what the ACLU would think about that?

Thanks to a fellow Blogger...

Need to thank PCD from "The Loose Cannon on the Right" for directing some of you over here to read about my adventures in Saudi Arabia...and if you came here by some other means, please go check his blog out.

Feel free to leave questions or comments here, I'll do my best to answer them as soon as I can, and hopefully give you some insight into life over here in Saudi Arabia.

Article from the Saudi Gazette....

Just looked over a newsletter sent out by the company I work for here in the Kingdom...the Ministry of Education has ordered all privately owned schools to remove images of pigs and musical instruments from English Language teaching materials. Seems that the materials must conform to Islamic teachings - and that the minister has asked all regional directors to ensure that this policy is followed immediately.

Religion plays a huge role in the lives of those that are followers of the Islamic faith in the Kingdom - the King is the "custodian of the holy sites" and there are the religious police (mutawas) that ensure that Islamic customs and traditions are followed to the letter of the law (they get their marching orders from the local imam's and the Ministry for the Protection of Virtue and the Prosecution of Vice - yes, that is what it is called). The mutawas are dressed distinctly from an ordinary Saudi male, and they are not afraid to enforce Islamic Law - event to the point of shops and businesses closing down for prayers throughout the day.

Living here is opening my eyes to what life is really like in a society where religion plays a role in just about every aspect of daily life. I'm assuming that life in the former Soviet Union and other communist states must have been something like this - with "big brother" ensuring that you follow what is acceptable for society...