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2018/01/25 16:06:41
Subject: Another beauty pageant scandal - with Camels
AL-RUMAHIYA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - The dromedaries paraded down a dusty racetrack as judges rated the size of their lips, cheeks, heads and knees. Crowds of men watched from the bleachers, hooting when the beasts representing their own tribe loped down the track.
A dozen beasts have been disqualified from this year’s Saudi “camel beauty contest” because their handlers used Botox to make them more handsome.
“The camel,” explained the chief judge of the show, Fawzan al-Madi, “is a symbol of Saudi Arabia. We used to preserve it out of necessity, now we preserve it as a pastime.”
Much is changing in Saudi Arabia: the country is getting its first movie theaters. Soon women will be permitted to drive. The authorities eventually hope to diversify the economy away from the oil that has been its lifeblood for decades.
But as they seek to transform the conservative kingdom, the Saudi authorities are trying to smooth the path for reform by emphasizing traditional aspects of their culture. And for the Bedouin of Arabia, nothing is more essential than the camel, used for centuries for food, transport, as a war machine and companion.
So, the authorities have ramped up the country’s annual month-long camel festival, which was relocated last year from the remote desert to the outskirts of the capital. On a rocky desert plateau, the government has erected a permanent venue to host the headline events: races and show competitions with combined purses of 213 million riyals. ($57 million)
The pavilion features an auction where top camels can fetch millions of riyals.
There are food stalls and souvenir shops, a petting zoo featuring the world’s tallest and shortest camels, a museum with life-size sand sculptures of camels, tents for tasting camel’s milk and viewing camel-hair textiles, and a planetarium showing how Arabs rode camels through the desert guided by the stars.
Organizers say this “heritage village” will expand in coming years as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - who is heir to the throne, defense minister and head of oil and economic policy - takes the reins through a newly-created official Camel Club established by royal decree last year.
Halfway through this year’s festival, attendance is up about a third from last year, with about 300,000 people making the 1-1/2 hour trip from Riyadh so far, said Fahd al-Semmari, a Camel Club board member.
“The vision is for the (festival) to become a global, pioneering forum for all classes of people to come for entertainment, knowledge and competition.”
.. what a world eh ?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/01/25 16:15:13
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2018/01/25 16:39:45
Subject: Another beauty pageant scandal - with Camels
Not all that unusual considering that prized livestock are highly valued all over the world, and doping, alterations, etc. are fairly common cheats. I knew someone who raised show bulls and a big deal in that was coloration, specifically pure black. Needless to say, cheaters had tried to dye their animals. Likewise, in racing, hormones and steroids continue to be issues.
Anytime money is in the mix, you will get people trying to find an angle.
-James
2018/01/25 19:35:01
Subject: Another beauty pageant scandal - with Camels
Here in the north of the Netherlands, horses are a really big deal. And not just horses in general, but one specific breed, the friesian horse which originally comes from this region. To be fair, it is a very beautiful breed of horse, but they are even putting up statues of it and writing theater plays about it.
That goes a bit too far, imho.
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2018/01/25 20:11:17
Subject: Another beauty pageant scandal - with Camels
