Savagery in the Middle East

When someone mentions Saudi Arabia, what will you relate to?

Oil... Men in headdresses... Vast expanse of desert... Extravagantly luxurious palaces?

What about this?

Women being refused the same level of education as men because they supposedly have "smaller brains" than men... Girls being killed by their fathers for "dishonouring the family"... The fairer sex being generally treated as "lowly animals/properties" of men... Housemaids being abused by the family.

Nah. What the hell. That no longer happens now, dude. You say?

Unfortunately it still does.

When I tried to discuss this issue with a friend, he laughed jokingly, "Mistreated as in being forced to have sex six times a day?" Ignorance is one thing. But indifference is another matter. I can't stand the fact how some people can just shove it off as a petty issue of little importance.

I'm reading Princess, an international bestsellers by Jean Sasson. It's a true story of an Arabian princess. But... Oh yeah, it can be a merely one of the relentless attempt by the evil West as part of their campaign against Islam.

"That's just the remnants of the jahiliyah period," a muslim friend commented. Jahiliyah. The period of uncivilization preceding the revelation of the Qur'an to prophet Muhammad. Yeah. That was the term I was struggling to recall.

I still vaguely remember the history lessons we had back in high school. Islamic history was part of the syllabus; we were taught about the rise of Islam and its contributions to world civilization. The jahiliyah period in the Arab world ended after the year 610, when Islam was born.

I know little of the religion and thus, will not proceed to commenting on it. Lest it be misunderstood, I am criticizing the society, not the religion. These are not just isolated cases but on the contrary, are commonplace in the nation. Is this the remnant from the previous era or has the civilization plunged into yet another dark age?

Women are denied civil liberties and justice. Very rare do girls receive high education. Their existence is to merely satisfy the needs of men and to bear children. Upon reaching puberty, they're required to clothe themselves from head to toe, literally, because the mere sight of the bare skin entices the male. Any woman who is found without a veil will be severely punished by the mutawas, the morals police. Rape victims dare not go to the police. Because bizarre though it sounds, the perpetrator will always normally be sided by the mutawas. And the victim, instead, will be punished for "enticing the male". Yeah, next time a burglar breaks into your house, don't go to the police. You'll be punished for not keeping the padlocks secured.

Stoning as a capital punishment. The truck unloads a pile of stones. The crowd gathers around, and when the religion officer gives the order, the men pick up fist-sized stones (but not so large that they could cause the woman to die too soon) and start throwing at the tied up woman. Every now and then, the stoning is stopped for the doctor to check the pulse of the woman. Normally after about two hours, the condemned woman would eventually bleed to death. That's savagery. While there are differing views on the moral issues surrounding capital punishment, stoning shouldn't be an option, regardless of the severity of the crime.

The US criticizes any form of human rights abuse. (Remember Saddam Hussein?) But why is there no intervention in Saudi Arabia? Simple. Because the US economy is fueled by oil (pardon the pun) and they have benefited much from their friendly relationship with Saudi Arabia. Being constantly suppressed by men, Saudi women, meanwhile, have no means to stand up and voice their predicaments. They cannot break away from the eternal chains of this tradition of savagery.

"Quit acting snobbish. It is our way of life. And it is our to keep it the way we want." the angry Saudi guy retorts. Oh, now we're talking about "rights"?

While there's probably very little we can do as individuals, at least have a little concern for the predicaments faced by women in the Middle East.

Related Articles:
Rape Victim Punished for Speaking Out - Human Rights Watch
Saudi Prepared to Behead Teenage Maid - The Daily Telegraph
Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice - Wikipedia
Five More Sentenced to Stoning in Iran - Save Malak

部長、お許しください！

「来た、サラリーマンが。」

玄関に目をやると、中谷が玄関から入ってくるのが見
えた。

金曜日だから、今日も相変わらずスーツ。まさに「サラ
リーマン」だ。

「部長、おはようございっす！」

「ええ、ええ。仕事、仕事。皆さんお疲れ様。」歌って
るように部長は俺らに挨拶を。こんなに仕事の好きな
人間は、おそらくあいつしかいない。

「皆集まってくれたね。」ラウンジにいた俺らに見回し
た。「今日の会議、なんだっけ…」記憶を探りながらか
ばんからフォルダーを取り出した。革製のかばんで、
一見サラリーマンの通勤用のものにしか見えない。

「あ、熱科学っか。」ようやく空白のレポート用紙を見
つけた。

隣の席の井原はコツコツとレポートを写してるところ
だった。背中を曲げながら、一生懸命と。

ラウンジはもともと談話用なんで、机はちょうど足を乗
せる高さのものだ。そこでレポートを書くものじゃない。
姿勢がよくなくて、猫背の原因となるのだ。

部長は上席に腰をかけた。

「あのさ、俺よおく考えたんだ。何で俺の答えが全部
不正解なのか、と。前回三回もな…」部長はため息を
ついた。

「マジかよ？」

「ええ、だから、俺はだめ人間なんじゃないかと思うの
さ。最初から答えを写せばマシなのに…だから、決心
したんだ。今日からコピーさせてもらおう、と。」

いかにも真剣なようなので、こちらも感心したのだ。

だが、それにもかかわらず、少し心配し始めた。「あっ
てるって保証できないんだけど…」

「ううん、間違ったとすれば、それは神からの罰にしか
思えない。」

名言を連発して、さすが部長だ。

レポートを提出してから、「肉屋さんのオヤジ」は問題を
解説し始めた。

スライドを見たとたん、「へぇ～まさか？」とびくっとした。

ショック中の部長は、髪を引っ張ろうでもするかのよう
だった。胸を叩いて、衝撃の響きを鎮めようとしてたの
かもしれない。

部長、お許しください！

HDR: Futako Tamagawa

Futako Tamagawa (二子玉川), a popular BBQ spot. The river separates Tokyo from its neighbour, Kanagawa Prefecture. (3 Exposure HDR)

3D Photo: Stitch and Buddy

This is one of those images, that, when looked cross-eyed, appears to be in 3D. For best effect, view the image at its original size.

Logic Puzzle: Red Hats, Green Hats

Here's another logic puzzle.

10 prisoners are about to be executed. The executioner decides to give them a chance for freedom. He will put either a red hat or a green hat on everyone's head. Then, they're required to line up in a row. The executioner will then start with the last prisoner at the back, asking him to guess the colour of his hat. If he gets it wrong, he'll be shot on the spot. If he guesses correctly, he'll be allowed to go freely. Then, the executioner continues down the row and so on.

Before the executioner puts the hats on them, the prisoners're given a chance to discuss among themselves and come up with the best way to increase their chances of survival.

What is the best way the prisoners can come up with? And what is the chance of survival for each of them?

Clarification:

• It is known that out of the ten hats, there must be at least a red hat, or at least a green hat.
• The prisoners are lined up in a row, so that each of them can only see the hats of the prisoners in front of him, but not of those behind him.

Ebb

The words of her ancestor Murasaki Shikibu came to her and she said them.

"The troubled waters
Are frozen fast.
Under clear heaven
Moonlight and shadow
Ebb and flow."

Hannibal made Prince Genji's classic reply:

"The memories of long love
Gather like drifting snow.
Poignant as the mandarin ducks
Who float side by side in sleep."

"No," Lady Murasaki said. "No. Now there is only ice. It's gone. Is it not gone?"

~ Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris

商店街のおせんべいやさん

最近、全然書き込みはなし。
いろいろと忙しいからとはいえるだろう。
ええ、半分言い訳だけどね。

後半分の理由といえば、
こないだの心境を
うまく言葉にしづらいからだ。

うんんと、先日見たドラマ
こんなセリフあったんだけど、
たぶん俺の思いごとをまとめてやると、
そういう感じかな。

「・・・見なれた通りの、いつも見かけるおせんべいやさん。

だけど、ある時そこを通りがかって気付く。そこにあったは
ずの店がなく工事をしている。

あれ？って思う。ここって、何の店があったんだっけ・・・

当たり前にあったはずの店なのに、思い出せない。

君もきっと、きっと君もそんな風に僕を忘れる。
思い出せなくなる。・・・」

いうまでもない、別れ話。

そこで俺が思い浮かぶのは、
すこし外れたものかもしれないけど。

ああいつは最近、
遠く離れてゆくようなきがする…

時間という変数が入ってくると、
永遠の約束なんてない。
たとえ
皆と一緒に、幸せだよって言ったはずとしも。
たとえ
思い出を分かち合った仲間だったとしても、

一方的に育まれるものであれば、
縁が切れないはずはない。

けど
がっかりしてもどうするのよ…

Logic Puzzle: Pirates and Gold Coins

Here's a logic question from a friend.

5 pirates have to decide how to divide their loot of 100 gold coins. The rules are as follow:

• The most senior pirate gets to propose a way to divide the loot.
• Each pirate, including the most senior pirate himself gets to vote.
  
• If the majority agrees with the proposal, the loot will be divided as suggested.
• In the case of a tie, the proposal will be accepted.
• If the majority disagrees, the most senior pirate will be killed. The next most senior pirate gets to suggest. The process continues.

Now, you're the most senior pirate out of the five. How are you going to divide the coins so that you get the biggest share possible? (All pirates are perfectly logical and greedy.)