Horrified

[bronwynrh]

Rabbits are eating my garden. Check that - they're nibbling, sampling and spitting out. See, they like to taste things before they decide they don't like something. My pansies are being decimated, as are my marigolds. Grrrr. I may try some moth balls, but all I can find online as solutions are traps, poisons and fences - greaaat.

In other news, people blew up a bunch of American communities in Riyadh. Fan-fucking-tastic. Yes, I still consider the stinking dustbowl of Saudi Arabia to be my home, even though they will never welcome me back and I will never see again. I think about Ras Tanura a lot, and I've been wondering when it or places like it would be targeted. Last night is my answer, I guess.

Being so far away, I can't get many answers. It seems that being closer doesn't mean you have many more answers, though. stylophonepet can only tell me the communities that were hit and that security in Ras Tanura is on high alert. As if that means anything at all. Makes me sick. It really, truly makes me sick.

The communities: Cordoval, Gadawal, Siyanco, and Al-Hamra. I remember the Siyanco and Al-Hamra communities. Mom, Dad, do you?

And almost no one here in the U.S. has a clue or gives a crap of the magnitude because it's too far away and it's not happening in Israel and the footage and reporting isn't available. Did I mention how sick this makes me?

I love how they're reporting how luxurious it is to live there: Skewed idea of life in Saudi. Ok, folks - you can call it luxury all you want, but that stuff is there to keep the "inmates" from going crazy. Believe me.

And that tax-free bit? It's only tax-free until you move back to the U.S., when your state of chosen residence will then charge you back-taxes on every dollar you ever earned while overseas. :-)

I love it when the media takes an opportunity spread a half-truth and leave us uninformed at the same time. Wonderful.

News from the region:
Arab News

IslamOnline

I got more information from both of these and my other Arab news sources than from my US news sources. Go figure. *shrug*

Comments

Here's what you may have been looking for...

[suladog.livejournal.com]

Safe Remedies for Pests...then again, I should talk ..up in Sonoma the deer practically have a seat at the dining room table.

Re: Here's what you may have been looking for...

[bramey.livejournal.com]

thanks :-)

[stylophonepet.livejournal.com]

Arab News (http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=26154)

[adaon.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, B. I know your frustration and anger. I feel it from both sides, anger as an American under attack and the anger as an innocent Muslim when the backlash begins.

Why can't you ever go back to Ras Tanura, aside from the safety thing? As a Muslim, I've never been led to believe that I'd have any difficulty entering Saudi Arabia.

Arabia.com is also an interesting site, although offering significantly less journalistic integrity, it has better coverage of 'local' news.

[bramey.livejournal.com]

You can go because you are a Muslim. I don't know how free your movements would be there, but you could certainly go.

I can't go. Saudi Arabia has no tourism industry for non-muslims. I can only go if I am the employee or dependent of an employee of a company stationed there.

Once you're out, you're out.

Some people have gone back for reunions, but they're the ones who were allowed to take their full retirement - my dad was ungraciously surplused (laid off) so again, no dice :-)

It's not a free country by any stretch of the imagination. I can't go back to visit my old hometown. I'd never make to the first gate. I'd never make it on the plane, in fact.

[chrisf-uk.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear all that babe.... I can't really pretend to understand but.... grr.... not nice... :-(

[kendokamel.livejournal.com]

Actually, when I heard about the bombings on the news, you were the first person I thought of.

Regarding the beasties in the garden... this is just an idea, but I put bits of habanero pepper all around my tomato plant on the patio, and the chipmunks left it completely alone after that.

Beasties in the Garden

[(Anonymous)]

For Flopsie: find someone with a dog, brush his coat and gather up the fur then put it around your plants. Rabbits are VERY afraid of dogs. Actually, they're afraid of cats, too but cats don't shed like dogs do. The pepper treatment for those tomatoes: Boil your peppers then strain into a spray bottle and spray the plants. Gets rid of beasties and lots of bugs. Good luck!

[insideyourhead.livejournal.com]

I pull from a lot of different news agencies to attempt getting a less filtered/skewed view of the world... Have a list of some of them here http://www.livejournal.com/users/insideyourhead/14505.html?mode=reply