Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ahmed Al-Omran

Many different and interesting topics were discussed in the Saudi blogosphere this week, so let's start our roundup right away.
What is the difference between democracy and American democracy? Hassan thinks he has the answer (Arabic). “In democracy, those who gain more votes should win. In American democracy, those who win should not harm America, and if they won, they have to be hurdled in every possible way. The evidence on this is the American stand from the Hamas government in Palestine and the Iraqi government.”
Farooha had a recent visit to the neighboring island kingdom of Bahrain, and was not very pleased with the behavior of her countrymen there. She wonders, “where the hell we were on the day God handed out civility and manners?” and says that “we probably overslept that morning.”
Aya writes about women's driving, calling it the most polarized issue in Saudi Arabia. She added:
If women ever get their right, there will be a “Saudi Arabia before women driving” and a “Saudi Arabia after women driving.” Things will never ever be the same again. And for this same reason this issue gets more resistance, it is not just about a car and a woman being alone together, no, it is about opening Pandora’s Box.
Green Tea has a short comment on the sentence of an Austrian court to jail the British historian David Erving. He writes (Arabic):
Excuse me, I think I'm getting confused! But isn't this story goes under the so-called ‘freedom of expression’ that they keep on telling us about it. Or is it just applicable to our prophet (peace be upon him) and our religion, and not to their proclaimed Holocaust!
Last week, Jeddah Economic Forum took place in this nice coastal city on the Red Sea, and @rabian Rash thinks the amounts of money paid for speakers in the forum for their minute speeches were “more than enough to fix the pot holes and sewage problems in Jeddah.” But he is not complaining, because “it was all for ‘our benefit’,” he added.
Fouad Al-Farhan is discussing the Ministry of Education's decision to teach Ardah, a folk-dance popular in the central region of Najd, in Saudi schools. He argues that every region in the country has its own folklore, and Ardah is not necessarily a part of it. “Is this a new attempt to Najdify the country? (Arabic) Is it wise to do that in a time when our enemies are trying to take any chance to destroy our unity?” he asks.
Riyadhawi thinks that most of the political and economical problems facing Arab countries today are caused by the continuous wars the region has to go through (Arabic), with a rate of one war every ten year since 1948 to present. “Now, close your eyes and imagine the political and economical situation if none of these had happened,” he said.
Finally, let's take a quick tour on some posts of note: Itachi posts some photos from the National Festival of Heritage and Culture (aka Janadriyadh). Abod writes about Dan Brown (Arabic), the famous novelist. After reading Nostradamus’ history, Talal wonders about the legacy he would be leaving behind if at all he would leave one. “What are the various situations that I have encountered and the ones I will face that will either write my accomplishments in history or let them fade with the wind,” he added.