PUBLIC MARKS from jfb1138

Christian Science Monitor is running the first article in an apparent series on Saudi Arabia. This installation looks at reforms, particularly those affecting youth, and covers issues ranging from a Rolling Stones logo on young women's abayas to Saudi 'death metal' rock bands, from the possibility of women's driving to the possibility of public cinemas opening this year. The piece is a good survey of the changes that are taking place despite conservative social pressures to maintain the status quo. It makes for good reading and I look forward to future pieces in the series.

Interesting piece from the UAE's Khaleej Times about Saudi governmental efforts to get facts about the conditions of Saudi society.

The Saudi government seeks to 're-educate' jihadists by showing them how they misinterpreted the Quran. A couple of interesting pieces on just how they go about it.

While use of the Internet expands in the Arab world, so do Arab governments' efforts to control it. Control is impossible, but it can make it harder to get where you want to go, do what you want to do.