Saudi rape gangs and farming

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThis has to be one of the most disgusting stories of the year and it has been well reported in the MSM and the blogosphere. But here is my take on it... This reads like Alabama in the mid 20th century. Roving gangs of white Klansmen would kidnap, beat and rape Black women and girls for the crime of being Black. (Wait, maybe this reminds me of early 21st century West Virginia). Now in Saudi Arabia, the Klan hood has been replaced with the Arab Keffiyeh. From the International Herald Tribune: To understand the heinous double standards at play, look no further than the case of a 19-year-old Saudi woman who was gang-raped last year. Despite being abducted and raped by seven men, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced her to 90 lashes because she was in a car with an unrelated man before she was abducted. Saudi Arabia's ultra-orthodox interpretation of Islamic law preaches a strict segregation of the sexes. The young woman had the temerity to appeal - and publicize her story in the media. And so, earlier this month, the court increased her punishment to 200 lashes and six months in jail. Her lawyer, a prominent human rights defender, was suspended and faces a disciplinary hearing. And the actual abductors and rapists? They got between two and nine years in jail. A rape conviction in the kingdom usually carries the death penalty, but the court said it did not impose it due to the "lack of witnesses" and the "absence of confessions." Once they rape all the women, you know the farm animals are next. Anybody know how you say "squeal" in Arabic?

Al Qaeda Map of the World

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge I had the most depressing meeting of my life yesterday (and in some ways uplifting but on a personal level that would bore you to tears). The reason it was depressing is because of who it was with and our discussion of the state of the world. My meeting was with a friend of mine who is a military contractor and a former Republican. This guy is one of the last bastions of business leaders in America who "get it." He has no problem making piles of cash, but he makes sure he EARNS it and he sure as hell does. He is one of the hardest workers I know and can work magic with troubled companies. He strives to keep manufacturing and jobs in the US but I believe in his heart, those days are numbered. As we discussed the state of the world, and the tragedy of the Bush Administration, he has declared the American Dream is dead as a doornail. "If you want the American Dream, go work in Europe, it is alive and well there. Bush has so destroyed the middle class, I doubt it can return with the business leaders we have now." Then we lamented the lack of leadership in corporate America. Over the last few years I have met with a lot of CEOs that frankly of no business running a business. The level of corruption and total lack of foresight is very troubling. These anti-CEOs are either running their business into the ground or flip the business and cash out - then go on to ruin another company. We talked more about how to fix it. One of his fast "emergency fixes" is "Vote Hillary Or Else!" The "else" being the total collapse of American society, economy and government. Keep in mind this is coming from a "life-long Republican" who voted straight tickets up until 2004 - Kerry was his first Democratic vote and remember, he is a military contractor. Maybe I am depressed for no reason. If someone like my friend can make such an extreme turnaround, maybe the rest of the country has had similar flashes of Jeffersonian insight? Regardless, we both agreed the Bush Administration is just a front for Big Oil and Cheney is guiding the chariots to secure and exploit the last of the fossil fuel resources in the world. It is all about oil - everything. Iraq? Oil. Gonzales? Oil. Warrantless wiretaps? Oil. All of it. In every scandal there it the recurring stain of fossil fuel. I am very tired of BushCo's oil slick.

Russia and the Oil Revolution

click to enlarge As we all know, we have troops deployed around the world. Yet I wonder why we have so many deployment locations. Then it occurred to me that we still have a lot of military in place where it would be strategically viable should other oil wars spring up. Do we really need all those troops in Europe? Yes, if you need a strong force to seize East European and Russian oil resources. All those Pacific forces would also come in handy for a Siberian offensive. Are we really spending almost half of our income to the US Treasury on what-if scenarios for oil grabs? Maybe. Even though most of the 9-11 attackers were Saudis, we attacked Afghanistan. Right after we went in, construction on the Afghanistan pipeline began and the next oil target was Iraq. I really hate to think I need a tin-foil hat today, but are we keeping all these troops deployed globally for peaceful missions? Do we really need to be in Japan, 60 years after World War 2? How about Germany, France, Italy and Spain? Are there any Al Qaeda elements these days on Guam?