Brother, I think you miss the point. The problem with the clubs.yahoo is that they were created by Saudi citizens and/or resident aliens and thus reflect on the Kingdom. Some of the clubs were devoted to employee organizations, some to nationalities (Filipino, Bangladeshi), some to popular football players or coaches. All well and good.
But some were devoted to Metallica or Nirvana. Some were devoted to discussing Saudi politics. And the great majority was devoted to sex: teen sex, extramarital sex, gay/les, nude photos of Saudi teens.
Now, the Old Professor isn't going to debate the ethics of censorship (which he hates with a passion) or women's rights or political rights. But, having lived eight years in the Magic Kingdom, he can give you the situation on the ground:
1. Government is authoritarian, but policy is managed to balance the interests and prejudices of the powerful. That means that whenever something changes West-ward (like the introduction of Internet access, 1/99), the conservatives have to be accommodated. In the Internet's case, all traffic through in-Kingdom ISPs goes through a huge proxy server at King Khaled City for Science and Technology, there to be scanned for political and moral correctness (to the extent practical).
2. There are no public movie theatres in KSA and no venues for public assembly except mosques and sports stadiums. (Consider: Why does the US Bill of Rights protect the right of assembly?)
3. The purpose of marriage is to forge political and property alliances between families and to maintain the continuity and integrity of the lineage. This is just like Renaissance Europe and the moral line is the same too: women are controlled because their purpose is reproduction and illegitimacy would muddy the lines of inheritance and alliance. In tandem, unmarried young men are regarded as loose cannons. Marriages are arranged and almost everybody marries (even if gay). In sum: sex is a powerful, potentially subversive force everywhere in the world, and the Saudis have to deal with it in terms of where they've drawn the lines of battle.
Thus ends the lesson for the day.
Slashdot Mirror
Brother, I think you miss the point. The problem with the clubs.yahoo is that they were created by Saudi citizens and/or resident aliens and thus reflect on the Kingdom. Some of the clubs were devoted to employee organizations, some to nationalities (Filipino, Bangladeshi), some to popular football players or coaches. All well and good. But some were devoted to Metallica or Nirvana. Some were devoted to discussing Saudi politics. And the great majority was devoted to sex: teen sex, extramarital sex, gay/les, nude photos of Saudi teens. Now, the Old Professor isn't going to debate the ethics of censorship (which he hates with a passion) or women's rights or political rights. But, having lived eight years in the Magic Kingdom, he can give you the situation on the ground: 1. Government is authoritarian, but policy is managed to balance the interests and prejudices of the powerful. That means that whenever something changes West-ward (like the introduction of Internet access, 1/99), the conservatives have to be accommodated. In the Internet's case, all traffic through in-Kingdom ISPs goes through a huge proxy server at King Khaled City for Science and Technology, there to be scanned for political and moral correctness (to the extent practical). 2. There are no public movie theatres in KSA and no venues for public assembly except mosques and sports stadiums. (Consider: Why does the US Bill of Rights protect the right of assembly?) 3. The purpose of marriage is to forge political and property alliances between families and to maintain the continuity and integrity of the lineage. This is just like Renaissance Europe and the moral line is the same too: women are controlled because their purpose is reproduction and illegitimacy would muddy the lines of inheritance and alliance. In tandem, unmarried young men are regarded as loose cannons. Marriages are arranged and almost everybody marries (even if gay). In sum: sex is a powerful, potentially subversive force everywhere in the world, and the Saudis have to deal with it in terms of where they've drawn the lines of battle. Thus ends the lesson for the day.