I won’t visit those time capsules of the middle ages so as not one tiny percentage of my money stays behind in a country that may or may not support or have terrorists living in it.

Reform. Right. This is the proud HOME of backwardness.

The only fortunate people in Saudi are the Royals and those who live within reasonable driving distance of the causeway to Bahrain. I would add the Bedu who live near enough to Qatar to cross over, but they probably don’t have an Internet connection out there, heh.

Being Royal is self-explanatory, I presume.

The causeway to Bahrain is in al Khobar and near enough to al Dammam and Dhahran (think Aramco) to make it an escape route. In Bahrain, though it has declined significantly in “freedom” since the new “King” reversed the late (and much missed) Emir’s forced exile of troublemaker Islamists, you can go to Seef Mall (or other such venues) and watch (almost) any mainstream movies you desire. You can shop till you drop, too. You can eat real food (not turned to mush in a blender for easy spreading on flatbreads) and you can see women driving cars! It’s a, well, a revelation! I do fear for Bahrain, however, since Michael Jackson has taken up residence there. Do any of you good folks need directions to the Grand Mosque in Manama? Don’t think so, huh? Well, would it change your mind if I mentioned that all the good private bars and brothels are nearby?

Lol.

Saudi is simply too self-screwed to describe without frothing. Any and all “changes” they make to “accommodate” Westerners will be meaningless gestures. This is the Center of the Backward Universe. Don’t believe a word they say – about anything, in fact.

I miss the really Good Old Days when Singapore Air used to fly into Dhahran and put its crew up at the Khobar Meridien Hotel overnight – there was a whole floor dedicated to such aircrew. There were ways of getting around the floor security for the bravehearts. After a few months of seeing nothing but Ninjas and MBOs (Moving Black Objects), just talking to one of those drop-dead gorgeous Singapore Air stews (flight attendants to the less fortunate youngsters) was worth the stealth and skullduggery, lol.

Then they built the causeway…

What I could never figure out is why it wasn’t just One Way: OUT, lol.

Jeff Goldstein is pissed off (but hilarious) in his post regarding the NY Times defense of Zarqawi’s weapons skills. [URL=http://www.insi ……