SAUDI GAZETTE

Breve rassegna stampa dagli altri paesi del Golfo (quelli dove non vivrei mai). Il Bahrein, in pieno ritorno al conservatorismo, pare abbia preso la palla al balzo e, con la scusa dell'influenza suina, abbia vietato completamente importazione e vendita di porco. La mia solidarieta' agli expats di Manama.

Superstar del ridicolo e' come sempre l'Arabia Saudita. La Gazzetta dei Folli ci regala oggi un piccolo capolavoro. Un inviato ad una conferenza alla facolta' di legge di Riyadh riporta:

The Grand Mufti warned of the use of mobile phones and messaging to break the moral fiber.
Addressing Saudi girls, he said: “Muslim girl, there are so many people who want to lure girls by contacting them on the phone, and oh how much they wish women would finally fall victim – and there are many women who have believed them.”

Tema dolente in Arabia Saudita sono i maltrattamenti in famiglia e, soprattutto, al personale di servizio (un paio di volte a settimana trovano una colf semi-morta). Particolarmente allucinante la storia di un tizio e della sua nuova moglie ora indagati per maltrattamenti ai figli di lui avuti da un precedente matrimonio. Dicono i bambini:

“Our father forced us smoke cigarettes to make people stop having sympathy for us as our mother is away,” one of the children said.
The girl said her stepmother took her to a deserted valley area, beat her repeatedly and burned her on the private parts of her body. She said her step-mother would only give them the leftovers of meals for them to eat, and would sometimes puts insecticide in it."
"One of the children said that his stepmother would force him to clean the bathroom, and lock him in after filling the room with insecticide spray."

Roba da pazzi. Cos'e' poi questa mania dell'insetticida? Su una nota piu' faceta, gli ultra-religiosi sauditi sono nel panico. Pare che l'intera nazione stia diventando dipendente dal Viagra.

Riyadh: The kingdom has been gripped with a craze for erectile-dysfunction medications by young men - an occurrence which has many worried.

A large number of married Saudi youths are flocking to pharmacies to take hold of Viagra - "the little blue pill" - or any other stimulants that will give them more satisfaction. The catchy words and obscene images that appear on online advertisements of these medications are another factor luring youth into buying packets of these stimulants.

According to Saudi doctors, this phenomenon reflects the spread of a negative sexual culture among the younger generation in the Kingdom.

E, per finire in gloria, la cara vecchia storia delle palestre femminili, invise alle autorita' perche' -

"Football and basketball are sports that require a lot of movement and jumping," Shaikh Abdullah Al Maneea, member of the official Supreme Council of Religious Scholars, said in a religious opinion published in Okaz newspaper on Thursday. He said such excessive movement may harm girls who are still virgins, possibly causing them to lose their virginity."

Ora che ho letto la Saudi Gazette, sono pronta ad affrontare i demenziali articoli sul divorzio del Cavaliere che, sono sicura, oggi riempiranno i giornali italiani. Nel frattempo mi rallegro di vivere dal lato giusto della Penisola Arabica.