Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (70817)	10/21/2003 7:27:44 PM
From: Sun Tzu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Iraqis and Saudis have never been known for gentle, loving, demeanor. But at least in case of Iraq there were times in their history that they were more culturally advanced than many other countries. So one can only hope that 25 years of sever trauma has made Iraqis a nation of neurotics and borderline psychotics than thinking this is the normal modus operandi. There is an old poem I once read for a missionary in India. Its beauty is lost in translation but the meaning is clear. last night that lovely woman said it nicely in the midst of our pagan party: "just why are you mingling with pagans here if you are not praying to the same idol?" The Kurds seem to progressed imensely during the brief period they have been allowed to be on their own. I suspect making sure Iraqis are free of all interference for the next few decades will do the same for them.

To: E who wrote (70817)	10/22/2003 5:32:21 AM
From: zonder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Strong family ties"? Strong but hardly strongly loving, or nurturant, it's fair to conclude Not really. There is a lot of love in ME families, which tend to be not just parents & children, but grandparents, uncles, their wives & kids, usually living all together in the rural areas. There is a lot of love in ME families and its "manifestations" are quite often and physical, hugs, kisses, etc that North American visitors are known to feel uneasy when present. (And they think it weird that American men don't even hug and kiss :-) Here's the disgusting story of 9 year old Sanariya -- only one of thousands like it, of course. Are you trying to say there is no rape in North America? That is very weird. Have you looked at the statistics? I bet you will find that it is a much rarer bird in the Middle East than in the US. In fact, I thought I would check up on this hunch: US Rape: 137,000 rapes, attempted rapes, and sexual assaults were reported to the police (3.7 per 1000 women and 0.2 per 1000 men in the U.S.) wildelife.com According to the National Victim Center, 683,000 women are raped each year. (1992) Only 2% of rapists are convicted and imprisoned. (US Senate Judiciary Committee 1993) And here's the Middle East: ....Country.....Description 1...Turkey......0.02 per 1000 people 2...Qatar.......0.02 per 1000 people 3...Yemen.......0 per 1000 people 4...Saudi Arabia.0 per 1000 people Total 1,439 Weighted Avg 0.01 per 1000 people nationmaster.com We realize, of course, that "0" does not mean "zero" but some small number. And that not all rapes may have been reported because of shame, fear, etc, EXACTLY like in the US - compare the statistics above: 137,000 rapes reported while an estimated 683,000 women are raped each year in the US. Wow. I have to stress two things here: (1) Rape happens in the US as well. And it seems like it is much more prevalent than in the Middle East. (2) Just 2% rapists convicted in the US!!! That is HORRIBLE!!! Methinks you should care for your American sisters just as much as you care for poor Sanariya. They don't seem to be adequately protected by law. That was the statistics. What I am really trying to say is: There are better ways to form an opinion about a whole region than focusing on a horror story. There are ample such stories that pass in any country, yours included, and it would be equally erroneous in any. Specifically in the case of the Middle East, rape is a social aberration, a crime worse than any other, due to the out-of-bounds nature of girls/women. A man's wife, girl, sister, mother, etc is his life/honor/everything. If you touch them, you know he is going to hunt you down and kill you. Especially in the rural areas, this is the rule of thumb. Hence rape is not a frequent occurrence at all. And if a rapist is put to jail, he doesn't last long. Other inmates kill him pretty quickly. I remember rapists asking for solitary confinement before going to jail.