PrairiePundit

Allahpundit: ... Wanting a guy fired for displaying a modicum of intellectual integrity is extremely on-brand for 2020. Hayes stands accused of the crime of believing that #MeToo allegations against a powerful politician are newsworthy even when that politician’s not a Republican. He looks guilty to me . MSNBC host Chris Hayes sparked backlash from the left when he became the first primetime host on the network to cover a former aide’s sexual assault allegations against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, with the hashtag #FireChrisHayes trending on Twitter. The “All-In” host welcomed New York magazine’s Rebecca Traister to his program Wednesday night after she penned an essay, titled “The Biden Trap,” that critical of the former vice president for not addressing Tara Reade’s allegations in any interviews, thereby leaving Democratic women supporting his candidacy to answer questions about the allegations for him… “What this is creating is a kind of a perfe...

Times: High Court judge hands down guide to flirting at work The headline is a bit misleading since the events at issue took place at a dinner date away from work.  But the judge's decision was basically "no harm, no foul."  With all the sexual harassment claims these days it appears that both sexes need some guidance on teh rules of flirting and the limits allowable.

NY Times: Saudi Religious Police Search for Woman in Miniskirt A video clip, and the debate that followed about the strict dress code for women, exposed a rift below Saudi Arabia’s tightly controlled surface. The Saudi sex cops are on the hunt.  They continue to be an embarrassment to the regime.  Having seen the clip, it is hard to say this woman is a threat to anything other than an attempt to keep women covered from head to toe.  It seems to be a cultural thing in a place where men are not held responsible for controlling their own libido.

Daily Mail: Be nice! Saudi Arabia strips its super strict religious police of powers of arrest and orders it to be 'kinder and gentler' in enforcing Islamic rules  Officers of the Haia force, also known as the Mutawaa, (shown) must 'carry out the duties of encouraging virtue and forbidding vice by advising kindly and gently' under the new rules. These guys have been abusing people for years and it is about time they were reined on or disbanded completely.   They have become an embarrassment to the kingdom.

Washington Post: Saudi women will vote this weekend for the first time ever Opening this path for women’s political engagement redefines Saudi citizenship at a time of huge challenges. The Saudi custom of making women wear funny clothes that conceal every feature by their eyes will make it difficult to prevent vote fraud.  It would be possible that even men could dress in the head to toe garb and vote although cross dressing is usually limited to people trying to avoid detection and arrest.

Telegraph: Saudi wife could be put behind bars for posting video of cheating husband  The Saudis seem to make no bones about their double standards when it comes to sex and cheating spouses.

Washington Post: Michelle Obama forgoes a headscarf and sparks a backlash in Saudi Arabia WORLDVIEWS | In that country, the simple act of not covering your head can be political, intentionally or not. For reasons that are less than obvious Arab culture requires women to walk around with a sack over their head.  Apparently their libido is so sensitive it goes all haywire if it sees female hair.  It is a screwy requirement and I don't blame her for ignoring it.  Unfortunately, very few women can get away with it in Saudi Arabia without fear of being locked up by the sex cops.

Jerusalem Post: A prominent Saudi Arabian cleric has whipped up controversy by issuing a religious ruling forbidding the building of snowmen, described them as anti-Islamic. Asked on a religious website if it was permissible for fathers to build snowmen for their children after a snowstorm in the country's north, Sheikh Mohammed Saleh al-Munajjid replied: "It is not permitted to make a statue out of snow, even by way of play and fun." Quoting from Muslim scholars, Sheikh Munajjid argued that to build a snowman was to create an image of a human being, an action considered sinful under the kingdom's strict interpretation of Sunni Islam. ... Sheikh Munajjid had some supporters, however. "It (building snowmen) is imitating the infidels, it promotes lustiness and eroticism," one wrote. ... How many people outside of Saudi Arabia would confuse a snowman with a hot babe?

Fox News: Dozens of Christians arrested at a prayer meeting in Saudi Arabia need America's help, according to a key lawmaker who is pressing the State Department on their behalf. Some 28 people were rounded up Friday by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the home of an Indian national in the eastern Saudi city of Khafji, and their current situation is unknown, according to human rights advocates. "Saudi Arabia is continuing the religious cleansing that has always been its official policy," Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told FoxNews.com. "It is the only nation state in the world with the official policy of banning all churches. This is enforced even though there are over 2 million Christian foreign workers in that country. Those victimized are typically poor, from Asian and African countries with weak governments." In Friday's crackdown,...

BusinessWeek: Toronto Mayor Allegedly Had Prostitutes in Office, Document Says He may have just been looking for clues in constituent services.  He does appear to be a man of many vices.

Algemeiner: Saudis Arrest Man in Mecca for Seeking Jewish Bride Being Saudis they just assumed he was crazy.   Johnny Lee's song is not exactly about trying to find a nice Jewish girl in Mecca, but he might understand the problem.

BBC: The head of Saudi Arabia's religious police has said there is a pressing need to employ more women in the force. Speaking to the official Saudi Gazette newspaper, Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said he hoped a recruitment drive would take place soon. Saudi's religious police enforce the kingdom's strict Islamic laws, including dress and prayer times. Correspondents say the introduction of women could be a sign of the king's cautiously reformist agenda. Earlier this month, Mr al-Sheikh announced that he would curb the powers of the religious police, known as the "mutawa". He himself was appointed in January to deal with growing public anger about excessive behaviour by the force. Recently, a mobile phone clip of a religious policeman ordering a young woman to leave a mall because of her make-up went viral on the internet. There is no indication that the introduction of women into the religious police would necessarily make the rules any less strict, bu...

BBC: A family in Saudi Arabia has accused religious police of being responsible for a fatal car accident. Morality police argued with the driver of a car listening to children's songs with his family in a park in Baha province, reports say. The driver, Abdulrahman al Ghamdi, drove off and was pursued by the police at speed before losing control of the car and dying in the crash. The officers involved have been detained and are being questioned. ...   After being followed for several kilometres by the police, Mr al Ghamdi's car fell down a bank at an overpass that was still under construction.   The 34-year-old's wife and two children survived the crash but were injured and remain in hospital.   A photo of the accident shows that the roof of the car was sheared off. ... What kind of person chases a car because the family was listening to children's songs?  The Saudis need to do away with the sex cops, and let the real cops deal with real crime.

Daily Mail on Sunday: Hillary dares to bare! Clinton meets King of Saudi Arabia... and doesn't hide her ankles She is lucky the Saudi sex cops were not around.  They would have been struck with the vespers.

Daily Mail: Saudis fear there will be 'no more virgins' and people will turn gay if female driving ban is lifted This kind of defense of Saudi policy makes the kingdom look paranoid and silly.

BBC: A new protest movement sparked by a policeman's ill-judged advice to women students to "avoid dressing like sluts" has taken root in the US and Canada. Thousands of people - some dressed in jeans, others more provocatively - are taking part in marches, or "SlutWalks". The aim, say organisers, is to highlight a culture in which the victim rather than rapist or abuser is blamed. A "SlutWalk" in Toronto last month attracted some 3,000 people. A similar event is due to take place in Boston. ... They probably will not have much trouble attracting attention to their cause. BTW, I agree with the premise that how a woman dresses is not excuse for attacking her. Now if these women were really brave they would sponsor one of these walks in Saudi Arabia. Related articles Mass. advocates join 'Slutwalk' crusade with march (seattletimes.nwsource.com) SlutWalking gets rolling after cop's loose talk about provocative clothing (guard...

Image via Wikipedia From the Arab News: Florists told to avoid red as Valentine’s Day approaches Flower shops and gift shops have been asked to remove all red items and heart-shaped gifts until after Valentine’s Day by the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia). These guys need to get a real job.

Image via Wikipedia Saudi Gazette: A 23-year-old unmarried woman was awarded one-year prison term and 100 lashes for committing adultery and trying to abort the resultant fetus. The District Court in Jeddah pronounced the verdict on Saturday after the girl confessed that she had a forced sexual intercourse with a man who had offered her a ride. The man, the girl confessed, took her to a rest house, east of Jeddah, where he and four of friends assaulted her all night long.  ... The Saudis blame the victim when she is not accompanied by a male relative. What a strange culture which does not prosecute the four rapist, but their victim. There is something sick in this system of justice. Related articles Saudi Arabia: man condemned to 500 lashes and 5 years' imprisonment on homosexuality charges (teaandpolitics.wordpress.com)

From the Telegraph: Saudi women and men sentenced to flogging and prison for mingling at party The Saudis have a law against fun. You never can tell where "mingling" will lead.

Jerusalem Post: It was a scene Saudi women’s rights activists have dreamt of for years. When a Saudi religious policeman sauntered about an amusement park in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Al-Mubarraz looking for unmarried couples illegally socializing, he probably wasn’t expecting much opposition. But when he approached a young, 20-something couple meandering through the park together, he received an unprecedented whooping. A member of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Saudi religious police known locally as the Hai’a, asked the couple to confirm their identities and relationship to one another, as it is a crime in Saudi Arabia for unmarried men and women to mix. For unknown reasons, the young man collapsed upon being questioned by the cop. According to the Saudi daily Okaz , the woman then allegedly laid into the religious policeman, punching him repeatedly, and leaving him to be taken to the hospital with bruises across his bo...