http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080503/ap_en_mu/saudi_mozart_in_riyadh;_ylt=AiDPBbHnwRIx3mQYv9anLCFxFb8C

Quote :

" A first for Saudis: Mozart performed publicly and women come By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer Sat May 3, 2:09 PM ET RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - It's probably as revolutionary and groundbreaking as Mozart gets these days. A German-based quartet staged Saudi Arabia's first-ever performance of European classical music in a public venue before a mixed gender audience. PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT The concert, held at a government-run cultural center, broke many taboos in a country where public music is banned and the sexes are segregated even in lines at fast food outlets. The Friday night performance could be yet another indication that this strict Muslim kingdom is looking to open up to the rest of the world. A few weeks ago, King Abdullah made an unprecedented call for interfaith dialogue with Christians and Jews — the first such proposal from a nation that forbids non-Muslim religious services and symbols. "The concert is a sign that things are changing rapidly here," said German Ambassador Juergen Krieghoff, whose embassy sponsored the concert as part of the first-ever German Cultural Weeks in Saudi Arabia. "Evidently the government has decided that a minimum of openness in our new world economy and in our information-based world is necessary for us and also for good understanding among cultures," he added. Public concerts are practically unheard of in the kingdom. Foreign embassies and consulates regularly bring musical groups, but they perform on embassy grounds or in expatriates' residential compounds, and the shows are not open to the public. In the past couple of months, however, there has been a quiet, yet marked increase in cultural activities in Saudi Arabia. Lectures and a couple of segregated folk music performances were held on the sidelines of Riyadh's book fair. And Jiddah's annual Economic Forum opened with a surprise this February — a performance of Arab and Western music. "For half an hour, we did not quite know whether we had stumbled into an unknown Jiddah nightclub or whether it was some amazing mistake that would suddenly stop," wrote Michel Cousins in the English-language daily Arab News, describing the 30-minute show. Friday's concert of works by works by Mozart, Brahms and Paul Juon was the first classical performance held in public in Saudi Arabia, said German press attache Georg Klussmann. It was advertised on the embassy's Web site with free tickets that could be downloaded and printed. The excitement in the 500-seat hall was palpable as the largely expatriate audience walked in. "We have not done a concert like this before," German diplomat Tobias Krause told the audience at the start of performance by the Artis Piano Quartet. Those gathered applauded enthusiastically after each piece and were treated to an encore. Sebastian Bischoff, the German cultural attache, said the mission had received permission for the event from the Ministry of Information and Culture, which runs the King Fahd Cultural Center where the concert took place. Japanese pianist Hiroko Atsumi, the quartet's only woman, said there was some debate before the concert about whether she should perform in an abaya, the enveloping black cloak all women must wear in public. She ended up settling on a long green top and black trousers. Among the first to arrive was Faiza al-Khayyal, a retired Saudi educator, with her 15-year-old daughter. "I came here for her sake. She loves classical music," said al-Khayyal. "There are cultural activities at embassies, but we don't get invited to them." Al-Khayyal said she had inquired about seating arrangements and was told the audience would be mixed. Did she mind bringing her daughter to a mixed gathering? "It's OK with me," she said, and then added with a smile: "I'm with her." Faleh al-Ajami, a university Arabic language professor, brought his wife and two sons to the concert — a rare opportunity for the whole family to do something fun together. "It's a good step to introduce Saudis to classical music," al-Ajami, 50, said during the intermission. "I was amazed at the sounds coming from the musical instruments," said his son Ziad al-Ajami, 11, a fan of hard rock. "I've never been to a live concert before." For the expatriates, the evening was an opportunity to have a normal evening out in Riyadh, a city with no movie theaters and where women are not allowed in outdoor cafes. One foreign couple held hands, while another husband put his arm around his wife's shoulders — rare public displays of affection in the kingdom. The mutuwwa, the dreaded religious police tasked with enforcing public morality, were nowhere to be seen for a change. "I'm glad for an opportunity like this," said Mary Ann Jumawan, a 40-year-old administrator at the South Korean Embassy. "It's the first time in nine years here as a married couple that my husband and I go to a location like this." But not everyone was impressed. Abdullah al-Sabhan, his brother and three friends received invitations from a German business associate, but after half an hour, they snuck out. "I'm bored," said al-Sabhan, 26, an engineer who prefers Egyptian pop music and had never heard of Mozart. "Let me leave before the second piece begins." His brother, Saud, dismissed the notion that gatherings involving men and women together might one day become the norm. "Saudi society wouldn't accept it. And girls aren't used to such mixed gatherings," he said, adding that if he had a sister, she certainly would not have been allowed to attend."

summary: women and men were allowed to listen to Mozart together for the first time

5/4/2008 12:50:42 AM

they hear a little classical music for the first time and they orgasm?

interesting.

5/4/2008 12:51:31 AM

Quote :

"Mozart performed publicly and women come"

i did hear he created quite the swoons

5/4/2008 12:51:57 AM

that would be cool of oepeii1 or whatever his name is went

5/4/2008 12:53:58 AM

I'm glad to see that they have progressed to the state of cultural advancement present in Europe during the early 1700's. They seem to have an affinity for it's music.

5/4/2008 2:37:49 AM

women come is what i stuck on too

5/4/2008 9:20:50 AM

These women, did they all come together? I would've like to have seen that.

5/4/2008 9:50:23 AM

0EPII1 would respond but the saudi king might kill him

5/5/2008 5:36:25 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080508/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_women_sports;_ylt=Av58ls4OmoKD0vC4bpp_sjes0NUE

yay some women can play soccer or basketball now!!!!


ok not the main reason i bumped this...THIS is the main reason i bumped this...

Quote :

"About 52 percent of Saudi men and 66 percent of women are either obese or overweight"

damn them jockies are fat

5/8/2008 4:48:55 PM

I hate that place so much.

5/8/2008 4:50:10 PM

Quote :

"0EPII1 would respond but the saudi king might kill him"

hahahah nah... i didn't see the thread!

this is what i said elsewhere on the internets:

How is that possible?!

Music in public
Mixed gathering in public
Women without abayas (and in a strappy dress!) in a mixed gathering in public
In RIYADH
At a GOVERNMENT cultural center

[each one represents a level of impossibility in this country]

I still can't believe it happened.

But this where you come back to reality and realize that women's emancipation would take a couple to few more decades:

Quote :

"adding that if he had a sister, she certainly would not have been allowed to attend."

[and that's a relatively liberal educated Saudi saying that]

5/11/2008 9:09:30 PM

ah, so this is what $3+ gallon gas has been buying these pricks..



solid gold houses eh? i wonder what kind of cool stuff they'll be able to buy with $4 gas.


if i was part of the oil industry in saudi arabia i'd buy a solid gold lamborghini

[Edited on May 11, 2008 at 9:25 PM. Reason : fixed]

5/11/2008 9:16:11 PM

where is that pic from? link please.

5/11/2008 9:17:27 PM

Quote :

"http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080508/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_women_sports yay some women can play soccer or basketball now!!!!"

thanks for that link. i am gonna send it to about 50 people right now.

i emailed the mozart one to about 50 people as well, with the comments i posted a few posts above. also discussed it on another message board.

5/11/2008 9:19:24 PM

So another few centuries before Ozzy can perform there?

5/11/2008 9:20:47 PM

i enjoy oepeii1's posts in this thread


you can tell by them that this actually is a big deal, which is sad because maybe 5 percent of the US knows about it

5/11/2008 9:23:10 PM

a Silver (That's Ag, not the color) Audi A8 for a sheik in Dubai.

5/11/2008 9:24:08 PM

i dont get how the citizens let the kings just waste money like that...like how can you just waste your countries wealth like that and not have citizen uprisings


and the way that one guy said he wouldnt let his sister go makes me think that any of the people that did show up might have been looked down upon by those that didnt...did the government explain why they allowed this? or was it just randomly approved?


and whats up with saudi arabia having lots of hefty people(like half the country is obese)

5/11/2008 9:28:12 PM

^^ right.

dude... you can't say something and then not give a source. i highly doubt that's a silver audi. it might be silver-plated at best. most probably a mirror-polished steel/aluminum paintjob.

and that's a solid gold house, huh? i am not saying they aren't extravagant. they are one of the most extravagant people on earth. but that doesn't mean you can make things up. or not provide sources if they are real.

Quote :

"i enjoy oepeii1's posts in this thread you can tell by them that this actually is a big deal, which is sad because maybe 5 percent of the US knows about it"

thanks. yeah most people who have had no direct experience with this area wouldn't understand the significance of that event. it is almost as big a deal de-segregation of blacks was in the US.

5/11/2008 9:30:00 PM

it's AFRICAN AMERICAN you racist fuck

5/11/2008 10:16:30 PM

http://graphics2.snopes.com/photos/automobiles/graphics/silveraudi2.jpg


fuck you america



[Edited on May 11, 2008 at 10:25 PM. Reason : .]

5/11/2008 10:20:09 PM

^ great, you linked another picture! where is the alleged claim that it is made of silver?

HAHAHAHAH YOU FELL FOR THIS BULLSHIT:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/automobiles/silveraudi.asp

Quote :

"The weight was almost tripled [] and it required special tires to support the load as well as all of the "Shock Absorber System". It is an Audi A8, made from solid silver...that's right, SOLID SILVER!!!! [] Why oil is so expensive? Wonder where our petro dollars go? The pics are of an Audi A8 in silver made for a Sheik - - It is not silver colored... it is made of silver!!"

Wow Rat, you must be a smart and fun dude to hang out with. I knew before I saw the snopes page that it was bullshit, that is, if you have any idea about science or physics. I guess at least you gave yourself an apt name, as you have a Rat-sized brain.

Quote :

"it's AFRICAN AMERICAN you racist fuck"

shut up fatty... i thought you loved me, and now you hurt my feelings?

5/12/2008 5:08:45 AM

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTTknSPjdIiDgAYhbQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHZkMjZyBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNzcg--/SIG=13ep3vsgt/EXP=1211666514/**http%3a//news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080523/wl_mideast_afp/unfoodpovertyinflationaid_080523202628

damn...

gg saudi arabia...even though they are only doing this because about 2 weeks ago the world realized they didnt donate shit

5/23/2008 6:03:59 PM

aston martin is owned by kuwaitis now

5/23/2008 6:07:18 PM

land rover is owned by indians
and so on

5/23/2008 6:12:21 PM

lol

ok i mispoke cause saudi arabia wasnt on the 2008 list but they still didnt donate that much in 2007

http://www.wfp.org/appeals/wfp_donors/2007.asp?section=3&sub_section=4

saudi arabia been doing a lot lately to make themselves look good...

5/23/2008 6:12:54 PM

^^for some reason, that doesn't sting as much

[Edited on May 23, 2008 at 6:13 PM. Reason : ^]

5/23/2008 6:13:10 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080517/wl_asia_afp/nkoreausaidfood;_ylt=AjEQib5vYDYwhn6jTmJvtD1vaA8F

5/23/2008 6:16:39 PM

Quote :

"half a billion dollars (317 million euros)"

5/23/2008 8:33:27 PM

thanks for the links DNL, i will check them out later.

in the meantime, check these out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/world/middleeast/12saudi.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss (same article here also: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/12/africa/12saudi.php)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/12/mideast/saudi.php
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/abeer_mishkhas/2008/02/love_conquers_all.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-05-08-saudi-sports_N.htm

each article is intensely interesting and highly frustrating at the same time.

5/23/2008 9:48:36 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080621/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_homosexuals;_ylt=ArMK.wpNj6LT055KO6GIvxELewgF

now if we could only do that here lol...

6/22/2008 1:52:37 AM

I don't get Saudi Arabia at all. You know if other countries we didn't like were pulling the same shit we'd be pissed at them.

6/22/2008 9:44:18 AM

^didn't you know? they practically own us--quite literally.

take a look at petrol numbers, particularly our own, and how much Saudis own (last I heard was about 40%). Also, they're steadily investing in American companies, even ones that are failing. The speculation is they do this (not only because they can) because when the bottom FINALLY drops out of our economy, they will, in fact, own us. They want to do this because, well, we're Amerrka, and they want to corner the oil market completely, not to mention the free world at large (since we no longer have any leverage in this).

**This is all from some 60 Minutes I watched about 3 months ago. I have no links, nothing. If anyone else wants to delve further, go for it.

6/22/2008 11:11:05 AM