Gotta LOVE the media … especially USA Today. It’s no wonder that they have to ‘give away’ their product, albeit using hotels as their shills to be able to say that they make a profit. Just judging on how they twist the recent surge in Bush’s favorability, tying it to the London airplane bombers and the drop in gas prices to be something that will be short-lived. NOW they suggest that Saudia Arabia has a Little League World Series contender becuse of their ‘giant’ first baseman.
Let’s try an experiment … Turn in your daily USA Today newspaper to the front desk at the hotel you’re staying at and ask that they give you a rebate on your bill, or ask for a copy of the Wall Street Journal instead. USA Today needs to see their readership numbers decline … significantly. Oh, and while you’re at it, make sure that you ask that FoxNews Channel be added to their cablevision lineup.

Conservative Traveler on August 23, 2006 at 4:24 pm

Nice call on this one Debbie. It is clear that the baseball team is American expatriates and not “native” Saudis. The news loves the spin, eh?
While I know and had heard elsewhere of your description of general treatment/view of blacks in Saudi culture, I’m not sure if I’d consider many, perhaps most Arabs to be “White” either as you say. I think they are kind of mixed, mostly closer looking to “white” than “black”, though in what way I am not sure and there’s lots of variation. Maybe to some degree it varies with north/south geography, Anwar Sadat certainly looked almost “black”, most Palestinians I see on the news look kind of “in-between”, but consequently I would say that the late Hafez Assad and the current dictator son Bashir do pretty much look “white”.
I know the US Census Bureau classifies all Arabs as “white”, but it visibly is not really the case. And no, this isn’t meant as racist as all, just observation, I think a similar thing applies to Mizrahi Jews in Israel as well.

hairymon on August 23, 2006 at 4:43 pm

WHO ARE HIS PARENTS SHAQ AND ONE OF THOSE CHUGA WOMEN FROM THE WNBA. LITTLE LEAGUE HAS A SIZE LIMIT DONT THEY.HE SHOULD BE PLAYING BASKETBALL .THAT BOY LOOKS LIKE IF HE RAN INTO ONE OF THOSE KIDS HE COULD HURT THEM.

PNAMARBLE on August 23, 2006 at 7:22 pm

Mmm. First off, Saudi Arabians like all folks of ME descent, come in a wide range of skin tone colors – including black, so your “most Blacks are slaves” comment is way off base. As is your White Arab line. As for Dhahran’s Little League team, the team members DO live here in Saudi Arabia and btw the team is the Arabian American team – which should give you at least a clue to their nationality. No one – not team members, the Kingdom or even the US media – is trying to pull a fast one by suggesting these young athletes are anything but American as baseball. And to PNAMARBLE – grow up! http://sandgetsinmyeyes.blogspot.com/
ACTUALLY, MOST BLACKS IN SAUDI ARABIA ARE, INDEED, SLAVES, AND THE FEW THAT AREN’T ARE TREATED AS IF THEY ARE. I STAND BY MY COMMENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE BORNE OUT BY THE FACTS. YOU, SIR/SIREE, ARE IN DENIAL.
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

hometownwriter on September 4, 2006 at 8:18 am

I’m an american and I lived in Saudi for almost 30 years and have traveled extensively all over the country. I can say certainly that blacks in Saudi Arabia are not slaves by any means, and actually there are not really that many blacks living in Saudi in any case. Most of the physical labor force in Saudi is from Pakistan or the Philippines.

rucktuck on January 17, 2008 at 9:19 am

I just happened on to this site when I googled Arabian American little league, and to read your comments that mostly ” Blacks in Saudia are slaves” is ridiculous. I’m retired Air Force and have spent years in the kingdom…I can tell you ma’am your comment is just flat-out wrong. If the king of Saudia Arabia were living in downtown New York, he would classified as Black. It’s amazing how someone can write anything and people will take it as absolute fact…shame on you!!!

WS: Hilarious. You are an American who spent time in restricted areas of Saudi Arabia where Americans hang, and where you didn’t see the real country. But that somehow makes you an expert. Whatta joke. Sorry, but facts are stubborn things. And Blacks are mostly slaves and/or treated as such in the Kingdom. DS

waymond simpson on August 25, 2009 at 2:05 pm

tHE COMMENTS HERE ARE NOT FROM THE BLACK SLAVES who are made suffer as chattel slaves as they are. Blacks are taught o be slaves as allah said, so you only see what they want you to see. Takrunis and zurkas are the names called to blacks of African lineage. dirty niggas is the meaning in Arabic.

btilly on July 24, 2011 at 1:45 pm