No poem here, so you can relax.

Just a reminder to myself that the poem I started in 1995 needs it’s three lines today. Back then I decided to write a short poem on a date picked at random. I would then update the poem every year on that date. I started by backdating the poem to 1990 - the year I met my wife.

I lost two entries when the hard-drive crashed on my crappy Compaq laptop.
Today is the day.

!!!END POETRY ALERT!!!

July 15: Many of the millions of foreign labourers in Saudi Arabia suffer from extreme exploitation and work under conditions that resemble slavery, an international human rights watchdog said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia said that the report exaggerated the experiences of a few of the more than six million foreigners working in the kingdom, and noted that millions of families around the world were dependent on remittances from such workers.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch, in its first comprehensive report on foreign labourers in the oil-rich kingdom, slammed Saudi authorities, the legal system and private employers for a range of abuses that sometimes led to death.

The hard-hitting report called on de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Abdullah to set up an independent commission to investigate the abuses and publicise its findings.

“Migrant workers in the purportedly modern society that the kingdom has become continue to suffer extreme forms of labour exploitation that sometimes rise to slavery-like conditions,” it said.

“This report is an indictment of unscrupulous private employers and sponsors as well as Saudi authorities, including Interior Ministry interrogators and sharia court judges, who operate without respect for the rule of law and the inherent dignity of all men and women,” it added.

Around six million foreigners, mostly from the Indian subcontinent, sweep the streets, build homes or run offices in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter.

Lured by promises of hefty pay, many workers often ended up at the mercy of de facto employers imposing 12-hour work days or more, the report said.

SAUDI SAYS REPORT EXAGGERATES

The Saudi embassy in Washington said the kingdom had effective labour laws to protect all workers, including foreigners, and there was legal recourse for victims of abuse.

“We disagree with the report by Human Rights Watch and do not believe it is a fair or accurate reflection of Saudi Arabia and grossly exaggerates the few instances which in no way reflect the positive experiences of the millions of foreign workers in the Kingdom,” the embassy said in a statement.

Human Rights Watch said despite its two-week visit to Saudi Arabia in early last year, the kingdom remained closed to foreign investigators, forcing it to interview workers mainly from Bangladesh, India and the Philippines at home.

The report noted that the kingdom’s highest religious authority, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, had already spoken out against the abuses in remarks published in a Saudi newspaper in 2002, asserting that Islam does not permit abuse of workers regardless of their religion.

It acknowledged that many foreigners reported no complaints about their experience in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi embassy said an independent human rights commission had been established. “The kingdom takes the issue of human rights very seriously and we continue to make progress in this regard,” it said.

The report said mistreatment of women was among the most disturbing findings. “Some women workers that we interviewed were still traumatized from rape and sexual abuse at the hands of Saudi male employers,” the report said.

Human Rights Watch also slammed interrogation methods in Saudi prisons and the country’s legal system, saying confessions were often obtained through torture and workers complained of being forced to sign confessions they could not read under the threat of more torture.

None of the workers interviewed had had access to legal assistance before their trials or to their embassies, and no lawyers accompanied them during trials, even in cases that resulted in the death penalty, the report said.

Yep the Electoral College is still around - much to my surprise considering what happened four years ago. Just found a place that consolidates the polls and shows the electoral results.
Visit Electoral Vote Predictor 2004.
Currently Kerry has a solid lead - 322 to Bush’s 205.
If that were to hold (doubtful) then Kerry would have a win similar in size to Clinton’s defeat of Dole in 1996.

Is it possible?
Absolutely.
Is it likely?
No.
My gut tells me that Bush will be re-elected.

I successfully ripped and burned my first DVD today.
Dennis Miller: The Raw Feed
I’ve always liked Miller - even when he was a comedian on SNL. Like myself he underwent a bit of a conversion, or what you victims of the Catholic Church would term a metanoia , after September 11. There’s something about seeing planes slam into things and Palestinians dancing in the streets that changes one’s perspective on things. He’s honest about it, and so am I.
That said, Miller is hilarious. He has the unique ability to mix the intellectual with the profane in a way that no other comedian can do.
He is known for his esoteric references, and there is usually a pause or two after these jokes when your mind chews on them until you burst out laughing. The DVD is only an hour long, but I haven’t had time to finish it. It’s not kid-friendly - and 7 year olds - even mine - would miss the humor but catch the naughty words. I have been doing my best to clean up my language, but it has been f(*&ing difficult - but the Wife is persistent, and having your kid swear like sailor does NOT ingratiate you with the inlaws.