Justice - Saudi Style

November 29, 2005 9:53 AM

50 lashes per week for 15 weeks seems a bit harsh to me. even for witchcraft.
posted by atticus (23 comments total)

*Pat Robertson pauses from building fire at stake, sticks out tongue*
posted by moonbird at 10:15 AM on November 29, 2005

Of course it would, witch.
posted by klangklangston at 10:19 AM on November 29, 2005

Reason number ten million for not moving to Saudi Arabia.
posted by three blind mice at 10:31 AM on November 29, 2005

That's going to leave a mark. I wonder what sort of condition his body would be left in.
posted by RockCorpse at 10:50 AM on November 29, 2005

Interesting weblog by the way. Funny guy with a lot of common sense.
posted by jouke at 11:40 AM on November 29, 2005

Well, western-centricism notwithstanding, it is not like we haven't been there already. The "process" he describes is astoundingly similar to the Holy Inquisition process. In most cases, once you were accused your only options were confess and die (but forgiven, so you went to Heaven) or don't confess and die (and go to Hell). It was also usually more painful to die without confessing.
posted by nkyad at 11:50 AM on November 29, 2005

nkyad,
What does that have to do with anything? I don't think anyone here or in the linked piece claimed that the Saudis were the first and only ones to ever do this, or that the West has never done anything bad. Yes, horrible acts of violence have been perpetrated in the past, but this is about what's happening now.
posted by Sangermaine at 12:11 PM on November 29, 2005

Sangermaine writes "What does that have to do with anything? "

Nothing, except for the analogy value - but please notice that, in the same vein, I also haven't brought this up to say that the Saudis weren't the first to do it or that the West did worse things, just to point to what I felt is an interesting analogy between too theocratic societies.

I suggest you calm down a bit and actually try to understand what you read without projecting what you think it means into the writer's words.
posted by nkyad at 12:17 PM on November 29, 2005

Or maybe you should be more clear, nkyad.
posted by nyxxxx at 12:27 PM on November 29, 2005

Reason number ten million for not moving to Saudi Arabia.

Or, in fact, any country without separation of church and state.
posted by sour cream at 12:40 PM on November 29, 2005

Rockcorpse, this is essentially a death sentence. An especially drawn out and painful one. Makes Old Sparky look positively gentle and inviting by comparison.
posted by localroger at 1:10 PM on November 29, 2005

sickening. on the plus side, bush has a plan that should eventually allow us to remove this country from our list of "strategic partners"
posted by jcruelty at 1:18 PM on November 29, 2005

Whatever. You guys are all a bunch of witch apologists.
posted by graventy at 1:21 PM on November 29, 2005

why are we "strategic partners" with these people in the first place? please don't tell me it's all about oil. that'll really depress me.
posted by atticus at 1:54 PM on November 29, 2005

nkyad,
It just struck me as odd. What is interesting about the analogy? I think almost everyone here is aware that the Inquisition used some pretty horrific methods of torture. It seems to me like bringing up that cannons were used by Napoleon too during a discussion of the American Civil War. It seemed like you had a point in bringing up the analogy. Otherwise, it comes across as random.
posted by Sangermaine at 2:32 PM on November 29, 2005

Well it all sounds very sensible to me , new agers are sooo pretentious.
Anyone running around claiming to be some sort of tiresome 'white witch' should be given as short a shrift as possible.
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:42 PM on November 29, 2005

Sangermaine writes "It just struck me as odd. What is interesting about the analogy? I think almost everyone here is aware that the Inquisition used some pretty horrific methods of torture. It seems to me like bringing up that cannons were used by Napoleon too during a discussion of the American Civil War. It seemed like you had a point in bringing up the analogy. Otherwise, it comes across as random."

Fair enough - I thought it would be clear. What is not random about it is that we have a repeated pattern of behavior across centuries and cultures and it somehow seems linked to religious fanaticism. What I wrote was not an attack at the West or an apology of the Saudis, quite the contrary. Your Napoleon analogy seems quite out of focus, I was not saying "so what, torture was used by the inquisition too" (actually I was not even exactly discussing the form of punishment) but pointing to the similarities between the judicial process.
posted by nkyad at 2:52 PM on November 29, 2005

nkyad,
Yes, I see that I did take it the wrong way. I misinterpreted your point. I'm sorry, and also sorry if I came across as insulting.
posted by Sangermaine at 3:04 PM on November 29, 2005

nykad, perhaps that should have been injudicial process; at least from my perspective.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:25 PM on November 29, 2005

" Anyone running around claiming to be some sort of tiresome 'white witch' should be given as short a shrift as possible."

"Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"
posted by klangklangston at 6:26 PM on November 29, 2005

My test would be to sit them down and deface prog-rock albums in front of their very eyes.

If they scream when you're tearing a genesis lp apart , Theyre a witch.
posted by sgt.serenity at 2:25 AM on November 30, 2005

Reason number ten million for not moving to Saudi Arabia.

Or even visiting. "Hello, barbaric people. Take my money. Carry on being cruel medieval idiots. Isn't that quaint."
posted by pracowity at 2:59 AM on November 30, 2005

And if i may say so , the existence of 'Jethro Tull' surely proves the existence of depraved and evil forces at work in this world.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:13 AM on November 30, 2005