Wednesday, October 23, 2013

"Who Lost the Saudis?"

Ironically, it was the president with the Saudi-sounding middle name.

Update: Two "social media" stories from Arab News. First, there's this:
Several Saudi-led fan pages and social media groups have been promoting the Kingdom in a modern, unorthodox and creative way, gathering support from locals, as well as expatriates of various nationalities.
Among the social media groups is “RiyadhTips,” a fan page launched by Saudi youth.
RiyadhTips provides facts, advice, pictures, videos and other content that describes Saudi Arabia’s capital in a modern and interactive fashion.
“The fan page reminded me of my time in Saudi Arabia as a student,” John, a foreigner who used to be a student in Riyadh, told Arab News.
“Facts posted by page administrators are entertaining and informative and make me nostalgic,” he added.
The group page, powered by Facebook, offers interactive features that encourage users to communicate through comments.
Among the latest posts in RiyadhTips, which gathered positive feedback from Internet users, is the “Keep calm and eat shawarma” picture with 950 likes and 153 shares.
Wow. That's so modern, advanced and 21st centuryish.

Next up, there's this:
The Ministry of Interior on Wednesday warned organizers of the Oct. 26 women driving campaign that group gatherings and marches are illegal. 
The warning also applies to organized attempts on social media sites to stop women from driving. 
Saudi women organized the campaign for Saturday in an effort to gain the right to drive automobiles on Saudi roads. 
A ministry spokesman said in a statement to the press Wednesday that “regulations in Saudi Arabia prohibit any action that disturbs social peace and opens the door for sedition and responds to the illusions of prejudiced intruders with sick dreams.”
As if that--and not prejudiced insiders with sick dreams--is the problem. (Don't you feel like advising the Interior Ministry to just "Keep calm and eat shawarma"? Or, barring that, to stick the shawarma where the sun don't shine?)

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