Saudi Cops Grab U.S. Woman In Starbucks

Kingdom's Religious Police Take Her To Jail For Sitting With Man In Coffee Shop

(CBS)  An American businesswoman was carted off to jail by religious police in Saudi Arabia for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks in Riyadh, the Times of London reported.

The woman, who spent a day behind bars, was strip-searched and forced to sign a false confession before being released, the newspaper said. The Times declined to publish her name at her request.

The 37-year-old businesswoman works for a finance company in Riyadh. Her problem began when her office lost electricity. She and her male colleagues then went to a nearby Starbucks to use the coffee shop's Internet connection.

She sat with a male colleague in the Starbucks' family area, the only place women are allowed to sit with men.

“Some men came up to us with very long beards and white dresses. They asked 'Why are you here together?' I explained about the power being out in our office. They got very angry and told me what I was doing was a great sin,” she told the Times.

Following her arrest and interrogation, the woman was hauled before a judge.

“He said 'You are sinful and you are going to burn in hell.' I told him I was sorry. I was very submissive. I had given up. I felt hopeless,” she told the Times.

The newspaper said the woman had received a visit from officials at the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia. A U.S. official told The Times that it was being treated as “an internal Saudi matter” and refused to comment on her case.

[destardi]

ohh, but heyyyy it''s ok, Bushie can stroll arm in arm with a Sheik, and hold his hand...

[gemstate01]

We are such pansies any more we will sit back and let the Saudi''s treat us with dis-respect. She committed a big sin? Really? I am not being derogatory, but I have been there. There is a lot of boy on boy love in Saudi. Who is commiting the sin? Shame on our country and companies for dealing and living with Saudi and their poor treatment of the U.S. and women.

[searingtruth]

Aaaahhh ...

Bush''s buddies.

Standing for freedom, democracy, and human rights.

Just like his best friend Mussharef.

Delivering "Democracy" to the middle east, and the world. Fascist style.
ST


"We courted evil while condemning it, suffering its fate."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[sliptip1]

If we had any guts we''d bar all Saudi citizens from entering the U.S. until the Saudi government made a formal apology to the woman for such shameful treatment.

[rational_1]

Yet another example of the benighted fanatic followers of Islam showing the religion''s true character - it''s the religion of peace you know! LOL! I''ll bet those jokers have never heard the word libertarian; the concept is certainly completely foreign to them.

[gunownerdan]

When religion controls a government, freedom and liberty are impossible.
Power to the infidels!!!!

[gunownerdan]

Most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis.
But since we need their oil, let''s keep giving them billions of dollars.........

[mygramma]

It IS NOT an internal Saudi matter. A U. S. citizen was accosted, assaulted and imprisoned in the name of a primitive medieval belief system. And the U. S. State Department does nothing about it?? Not even a phone call to the dictator??

The divide between the West and the extremist Wahabi version of Islam grows deeper and wider, all the while the dictators of the Middle East refuse to modernize and develop their countries - but they don''t fail to blame the United States for the problems of their own making.

Mainstream Muslims need to eradicate the extremists who keep them in the dark ages, or someone else will.

[likeitis5050]

Yes...let''s bend over backwards to make these people love us...kiss my a.ss. These people can not, will not, and do not want to change. They are beyond understanding equitable and humane civil rights and fighting a war to help them achieve this lofty goal is stupid. They are as ready to be liberated and free of gender bias as the poorest victims of New Orleans disaster are ready to be homeowners of homes given to them for simply being poor. There is a growth cycle and a learning curve that people have to attain before they can go from nothing to even 1/2 of something. It requires committment and self-motivation toward becoming educated. Muslims are not interested. Leave them to their ignorance and stop trying liberate the world. We have poor people right here in our own backyard who desperately need to learn how to be home owners!

[nlm2383]

There is a lot of boy on boy love in Saudi. Who is commiting the sin?
Posted by gemstate01

Don''t bring your religious beliefs into this...Gay couples do not have anything to do with a U.S. woman being harassed in a foreign country. The people who are responsible for the harassment should be held responsible for their actions.

[likeitis5050]

Besides that, her story sounds phony. It''''s highly unlikely she was strip searched.
-------------------------------------------------

Posted by tuckerndfw

what an idiot.

[nlm2383]

She should go cry to someone who cares.

Saudis are VERY STRICT about what people do in public.

Maybe next time she and her colleagues will go to someone else''''s office or to one of their own homes rather than flaunting the rules.

Besides that, her story sounds phony. It''''s highly unlikely she was strip searched.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by tuckerndfw

You obivously didn''t read the WHOLE story, only the parts that YOU wanted to see. It clearly states that she sat with a male colleague in the Starbucks'' family area, the only place women are allowed to sit with men.

[roger_inkart]

Just think how much further along we''d be as a nation reducing our depedence on foreign oil if we''d spent the last 7+ years developing alternative engergy sources instead of fighting a counterproductive vanity war for the brain dead, arrogant neo-cons.

[issie1962]

Does anyone have respect for other cultures or religions? The "lady" in question resides in a country where there are specific laws regarding women and men "socializing" in public. She broke the law whether we like the law or not. Aren''t each of you being small-minded and imposing your will on their country just? Yall would surely object if another country tried to impose their "will" on us! Has anyone even traveled to any country in the middle east? I have ... sure, there are a lot of restrictions for females, but I do my homework before I travel anywhere. I have learned so much about people all over the world because I keep an open mind and am glad that my Gov''t does not try to impose my religion (Christianity) on Muslim countries because all Muslims are not hateful or radical and they do have wonderful family values ... they just do things differently than we might ... but isn''t that what makes life so special? Try reading about those countries and their cultures and the special things that you can see and do if you ever chose to travel there ... keep an open mind and not such a hatefilled one. The Lady had been well schooled by her company before she ever went to live in Saudi ... she screwed up ... she has to take responsibility for her actions.

[jowand]

Just think how much further along we''''d be as a nation reducing our depedence on foreign oil if we''''d spent the last 7+ years developing alternative engergy sources instead of fighting a counterproductive vanity war for the brain dead, arrogant neo-cons.
Posted by roger_inkart at 09:50 AM : Feb 07, 2008

How about brain dead "ProRats", the Pope of Hot Air Al Gore, refusing to drill for oil in the US for the last 15 years. We wouldn''t be in this energy mess now if we had. Ordinary people can''t afford your alternative energy solutions, go do some research instead of just running off at the mouth.

[notbuynit]

Backward retarded barbarians.

[jowand]

Mainstream Muslims need to eradicate the extremists who keep them in the dark ages, or someone else will.
Posted by mygramma at 09:39 AM : Feb 07, 2008

The extremists are the mainstream, this is why you see no mas protests over issues like you do in the West.

[ioweign]

Saudi Cops Grab U.S. Woman In Starbucks
Kingdom''s Religious Police Take Her To Jail For Sitting With Man In Coffee Shop



Where are we fighting the Taliban again ??

[ioweign]

Saudi Cops Grab U.S. Woman In Starbucks
Kingdom''s Religious Police Take Her To Jail For Sitting With Man In Coffee Shop


When is Bush going to spread democracy in Saudi Arabia ??

[rf35]

Yes, she was treated abominably, but the point is, she shouldn''t have been there in the first place. If American businesses MUST maintain a presence in Saudi, they should make it a "men only" position to avoid situations like this. There is plenty of blame to spread around if that''s what floats your boat. If it were my choice, we wouldn''t be doing business with a Muslim monarchy anyway.
Take a good look at this, though. This is the kind of country the Religious Reich want you and I to live in. When any group is allowed to force it''s religious moral values on a country, freedom has truly been lost.

[lambofgoth]

jowand... may I ask, when was the last time you slept with your druggie preacher?

[rf35]

"How about brain dead "ProRats", the Pope of Hot Air Al Gore, refusing to drill for oil in the US for the last 15 years. We wouldn''''t be in this energy mess now if we had. Ordinary people can''''t afford your alternative energy solutions, go do some research instead of just running off at the mouth."

Posted by jowand at 09:54 AM : Feb 07, 2008

If we had spent half as much on developing that alternate energy as we did hunting for more oil, it wouldn''t be so *** expensive.

[ioweign]

"How about brain dead "ProRats", the Pope of Hot Air Al Gore, refusing to drill for oil in the US for the last 15 years. We wouldn''''''''t be in this energy mess now if we had. Ordinary people can''''''''t afford your alternative energy solutions, go do some research instead of just running off at the mouth."

Posted by jowand at 09:54 AM : Feb 07, 2008

If we had spent half as much on developing that alternate energy as we did hunting for more oil, it wouldn''''t be so *** expensive.

Posted by rf35 at 10:03 AM : Feb 07, 2008


Harass jowand, plenty of HOT air...

[mrbrill]

jowand, the point is finding affordable renewable energy sources should be the focus of the government to remove our dependence on foreign oil... I don''t know what century you live in, but finding more oil domestically is not the long term answer.

[lloydbest1]

It''s their country....I guess they can run it any way they like.

We have our own values and code of ethics. Our own view of how we should treat people; our own paradigm for how to conduct gender/gender relationships.

Nothing I have said above should be taken to mean I accept what I consider a bullsh!t worldview and a despicable invasion of someone else''s private morality. The United States does NOT have to subsidise a national charter that is as out of synch with our own as Saudi Arabia''s.

Cut ''em off completely. Cut ourselves off. We may have to do with the inconvenience of a lessened oil supply but the Middle East will have a much harder time having to do with a lessened food supply.

Yeah, the Saudi government can do what it feels is neccessary but we here need to elect an Executive Branch and Congress with enough iron in their spines to say to them:
"Your internal policies are your own business but unless they are liberalized we will not consider you an ally, we will not give you aid nor will we trade with you".

[simonsez40]

It is beyond me why women don''t flee that country in droves - I''m sure most don''t know there is a different world out there..........it is truly sad that a religion vilifies women because men need to rule or conquer.

If Huckabee had his way women being 2nd class citizens would added to the Constitution!

[ioweign]

"Your internal policies are your own business but unless they are liberalized we will not consider you an ally, we will not give you aid nor will we trade with you".

Posted by LloydBest1 at 10:07 AM : Feb 07, 2008


Isn''t it the Bush Doctrine to spread democracy ?

[tnolley-2009]

Isn''t islam wonderful? So.... peaceful.

[hotpaulie]

When Saudis come here King George holds their hands, so how bad can these people be. We should just ignore this because we need their life giving oil.

[searingtruth]

"...Isn''t it the Bush Doctrine to spread democracy ?"
IOWEIGN


Yes.

But only if it''s in Iraq.

And only if they are democratically controlled by Bush and his henchmen.

And his private SS Blackwater.
ST


"Everyone is guilty until anonymously abducted, tortured to death, and proven innocent.
The New American Constitution, George W. Bush & Henchmen"
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave - www.searingtruth.com

[forthepeopl1]

AND ALL REMEMBER THEIR WAS ONLY 18 OUT OF 19 THAT WERE SAUDI''S THAT ATTACT US...TWIN TOWERS...THATS ALL

AND BUSH STILL KISSES THE KINGS A/S/S.

[wdrussell1]

Yeah, and a president Huckabee would appoint Fred Phelph as head of the American religious police.

[olebd]

The real reason she was harrassed is probably because they detected her American accent.

Hey Georgie, ask them to lower the price of oil again. LOL

Could you imagine if we harrassed a Saudi in THIS country like that? My goodness, the cop would lose his job and we''d all have to attend mandatory sensitivity trainings and learn their language. If I were anybody, male or female, I would not set foot in any Middle Eastern country.

Funny how you hear how bad women are treated in Afghanistan but never in a place like Saudi Arabia because they are "allies." The truth as we see is all Middle Eastern/predominately Muslim countries treat women like dirt. I''m all for shutting them all out. We''d adapt and be better off without them.

[jrolbin]

It is not Islam;s problem. It was hers. She chose to go there, to work there and to do busines there...learn and respect the customs or do your business elsewhere.

Not everywhere is the U.S.

[tomanyt]

Middle East...The cradle of idiocy.

[ioweign]

Why is it so easy for a simple story like this to expose the level of hate and intolerance that we have as we respond to a story of hate and intolerance?

Special creative hate award to those of you who equate this story somehow to Huckabee and Christians. You are the truly intolerant.

Posted by ojama at 10:24 AM : Feb 07, 2008

Then why does Huckabee want to add an amendment to the Constitution to reflect "God''s" standards - whose "God"...

In Michigan:
"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it''s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that''s what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it''s in God''s standards rather than try to change God''s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

[lloydbest1]

Posted by yers truly at 10:07 AM : Feb 07, 2008

Let me make my position very clear and very straight.

I do not advocate any agressive moves or military strategies to compel KSA or anyone else into complying with what WE believe is proper western culture. We have had quite enough of that already, thank you.

But we do have some latitude in conducting our foreign policy that does not interfere with another sovereign nation''s internal affairs.
we have the right to form alliances, give aid (if we can afford to do so) and make trade agreements based on terms and conditions we set. Other nations do not have to accept them. It is the hope, though, that ours are sufficiently reasonable that they do.

If KSA can not adjust their internal policies to ones that more closely align to our own with respect to basic human rights, then we are at perfect liberty to suspend any agreements with them and they are at perfect liberty to take their business somewhere else.

[ioweign]

You left-wingnuts out there just remember how you always prattle on about how we can''''t "impose our own values" on other cultures. After all, "there is no absolute truth out there, it''''s all relative". So "we don''''t have the right to judge". Sound familiar?
So I don''''t want to hear any complaints about how women are treated in other cultures coming from those moral relativists out there, you have no standing.

Posted by ritewingman at 10:29 AM : Feb 07, 2008

Join Bush - in spreading democracy in Iraq...

[chipinque-2009]

She knew the laws and the penalty for breaking the law before she went there. She was blinded by all those tax free dollars. I''ll bet she would be happy to pay now!!

[feelfree1]

Re: "The woman, who spent a day behind bars, was strip-searched and forced to sign a false confession before being released, the newspaper said."

So...same as here, pretty much.

[truth_hurts2]

I agree totally

It was her problem.

She chose to go there, she chose to work there and she chose to do business there...learn and respect the customs or do your business elsewhere.

Not everywhere is the U.S.

[feelfree1]

Oh. Wait a minute...she was released. My bad.

[o0pie]

US Jihad on Saudi Arabia! Jihad! Jihad!

This is exactly why we shouldnt associate ourselves with this arrogant, caste based country. What civilized country in this day and age has rules about where a woman can sit in a Starbucks? Truly this shows why religion should not drive government policy.

[chipinque-2009]

She knew the laws and the penalty for breaking the law before she went there. She was blinded by all those tax free dollars. I''ll bet she would be happy to pay now!!

[missingamerica]

"...Isn''t it the Bush Doctrine to spread democracy?"

IOWEIGN

It is the Bush doctrine to "incentivize productivity" and to avoid "disincentivizing entrepreneurship".

"Spreading democracy" is a tactic to achieve those ends.

If you wonder what that Mary Matalinish-gobbledygook means, it means to harvest all value out of the resources - be they natural, human, or infrastructure - of any nation they can without allowing any of that value to escape in the form of taxes or wages and benefits.

In short, the core policy of Bush and his supporters - the Glen Beck style of "conservatives" - is economic rape.

[newsjunky5]

Power was cut in her office, then she was arrested in an area where it''s normally OK for women to sit with men. I''d like to know what finance company she works for, because this sounds alot like a set-up. Did she ****-off or dare to compete for a White House sanctioned contract? Do you think Bush and Cheney are compassionate conservatives enough not to play this way?

[chipinque-2009]

She knew the laws and the penalty for breaking the law before she went there. She was blinded by all those tax free dollars. I''ll bet she would be happy to pay now!!

[gronamox-2009]

So you like to scare girls huh? That is a tenet of your religion? Besides oil, what use are you to the human race? No use. You think oil allows you to terrorize the world with your cowardly suicide bombers, honor killings, stonings, and claptrap about Muhammed and Allah. I am a peaceful guy, but this Islam b.s. has got to stop. This religion means extinction. I am 100% for the eradication of this religion and all who subscribe. No more of this terror. Thermonuclear weapons have a purpose. Nobody has to commit troups on the ground. Is it insane to commit genocide? Of course. Do these people believe in genocide? You bet. Kill the Infidel is Islam''s mantra. And spare me the moderates who just want to worship in peace. When you worship Baal there is no peace. Truman knew if he showed the Emperor the bomb, he would surrender. Before the Jihadists concoct one of their own and put it on the rockets they''ve tested, let us demonstrate the power of 21st technology. It is time for them to surrender.

[bogusbones]

this incident is another indication that we can''t impose our cultural standards on other peoples. who do we think we are? if the arabs came to america and try to impose their will on us, how would we react? we must always be aware of where we are and what we are doing in this world of heightened sensitivities. it''s like g. bush sr. going to ireland and giving the peace sign which is like giving the finger. i can''t understand americans that criticize other nations for their cultural norms because they don''t agree with our standards.

[timrek10567]

Why are we overlooking Starbucks in all this?
I call for them to remove their stores from any nation that legalizes discrimination.