the despairing bear

there were a couple of fresh reminders this week for the "new york times" set on the nature of the mohammedian enemy.

in saudi arabia a woman gang raped by 7 mussulmen was sentenced to 400 or so lashes. i'm not sure of the exact amount. after the first 100 or so the mind does start to wander. it was a nice round number anyway. never mind the rape, the beak said, she was seen in public talking to a chap who wasn't a relative. unchaperoned! her family must be horrified. i doubt they'll ever be able to be seen in the bazaars again. if the beating doesn't kill her, her family probably will. it's allah's law, innit?

meanwhile in the sudan a woman was locked away for letting her primary school class name a teddy bear after the heresiarch mohammed. naturally the people of sudan were appalled by this, and took to the streets demanding her death. as one would. unfortunately diplomatic pressure ensured her release (sans the beating). but, as "the sun" points out, the bear itself still languishes in captivity.

the sudanese should either release the bear or follow the example of the taliban (they used to publicly hang tv sets) and execute him. this shilly-shallying won't do at all.