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After the initial reaction to WikiLeaks mega-dump, the conversation shifted from the content of the cables to meta issues such as Julian Assanges supposed sex offence and the meaning of transparency and privacy in the internet age.
But theres still some interesting stuff, albeit sometimes superficial, to be found in the cables. A confidential memo from late 2009, released on Tuesday December 7, informed the State Department that Saudi youth love to party with alcohol, prostitutes, and drugs. (The cable was accessed through a mirror site as wikileaks.org is offline due to increased DDoS attacks and problems with its hosts, this prompted so-called hacktivists to attack sites which denied service to Assanges WikiLeaks).
The memo, classified by Consul General for Jeddah Martin Quinn, notes that behind the façade of [ ] conservativism, Jeddahs underground nightlife offers the full range of worldly temptations and vices. Jeddah, a thriving port city considered to be the principal gateway to Mecca, Islams holiest city, is Saudi Arabias second largest city after the capital. Considered cosmopolitan and tolerant, Jeddah gives refuge to the vices of the Kingdoms lower royalty. Princes, which according to the cable exceed 10,000 in population, are shielded from the religious police/CPVPV (Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) because of their connection to the royal family.
Members of the U.S. consulate in Jeddah attended an underground Halloween Party at a Princes residence hosted by a U.S. based energy-drink company. Rich young Saudis party like anywhere else in the world, their Halloween event included plentiful alcohol, young couples dancing, a DJ at the turntables, and everyone in costume. They probably werent drinking Four Loko.
While the country is ruled by Sharia, or Islamic law deriving from the Quran, the party didnt seem to lack in the strictly prohibited pleasures of the night and flesh. Party-goers drank local moonshine called sadiqi served by Filipino barmen out of bottles of top-shelf liquor, which had been already consumed and replaced by sadiqi. While the country boasts some of the worlds largest oil reserves, younger Saudi royalty doesnt want to spend the big bucks on their guests, as a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka costs about 1,500 riyals (about $400) on the black market, while moonshines available for only $26 bucks. One can only imagine the hangover from Saudi moonshine if its that much cheaper than Smirnoff.
Our partying diplomats got word that some of the ladies were actually working girls, something they called not uncommon for such parties. Under Sharia, adultery by married men or women is punished by stoning to death. If they are unmarried, they receive the lesser punishment of 100 lashes.
Parties in Jeddah had all the components to make anyone a rock star. Added to the hookers and booze, our curious diplomats found that cocaine and hashish use is common in these social circles and has been on other occasions. Reportedly, it wasnt witnessed directly at the Halloween party. Lets hope they didnt inhale.
The cable points at the modernizing forces that underlie Saudi Arabias progress onto the world stage. Jeddahs youth, like those of many other countries, experiment with sex, drugs, and rock & roll. The only difference is that they have to do it behind closed doors. Ill give our exhausted diplomats, after a night of soft diplomacy, the last word.
Saudi youth get to enjoy relative social freedom and indulge fleshly [in] pursuits, but only behind closed doors and only the rich. Parties of this nature and scale are believed to be a relatively recent phenomenon in Jeddah.
WikiLeaks Reveals Sex, Drugs, And Rock & Roll In Saudi Arabia - Forbes
But theres still some interesting stuff, albeit sometimes superficial, to be found in the cables. A confidential memo from late 2009, released on Tuesday December 7, informed the State Department that Saudi youth love to party with alcohol, prostitutes, and drugs. (The cable was accessed through a mirror site as wikileaks.org is offline due to increased DDoS attacks and problems with its hosts, this prompted so-called hacktivists to attack sites which denied service to Assanges WikiLeaks).
The memo, classified by Consul General for Jeddah Martin Quinn, notes that behind the façade of [ ] conservativism, Jeddahs underground nightlife offers the full range of worldly temptations and vices. Jeddah, a thriving port city considered to be the principal gateway to Mecca, Islams holiest city, is Saudi Arabias second largest city after the capital. Considered cosmopolitan and tolerant, Jeddah gives refuge to the vices of the Kingdoms lower royalty. Princes, which according to the cable exceed 10,000 in population, are shielded from the religious police/CPVPV (Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) because of their connection to the royal family.
Members of the U.S. consulate in Jeddah attended an underground Halloween Party at a Princes residence hosted by a U.S. based energy-drink company. Rich young Saudis party like anywhere else in the world, their Halloween event included plentiful alcohol, young couples dancing, a DJ at the turntables, and everyone in costume. They probably werent drinking Four Loko.
While the country is ruled by Sharia, or Islamic law deriving from the Quran, the party didnt seem to lack in the strictly prohibited pleasures of the night and flesh. Party-goers drank local moonshine called sadiqi served by Filipino barmen out of bottles of top-shelf liquor, which had been already consumed and replaced by sadiqi. While the country boasts some of the worlds largest oil reserves, younger Saudi royalty doesnt want to spend the big bucks on their guests, as a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka costs about 1,500 riyals (about $400) on the black market, while moonshines available for only $26 bucks. One can only imagine the hangover from Saudi moonshine if its that much cheaper than Smirnoff.
Our partying diplomats got word that some of the ladies were actually working girls, something they called not uncommon for such parties. Under Sharia, adultery by married men or women is punished by stoning to death. If they are unmarried, they receive the lesser punishment of 100 lashes.
Parties in Jeddah had all the components to make anyone a rock star. Added to the hookers and booze, our curious diplomats found that cocaine and hashish use is common in these social circles and has been on other occasions. Reportedly, it wasnt witnessed directly at the Halloween party. Lets hope they didnt inhale.
The cable points at the modernizing forces that underlie Saudi Arabias progress onto the world stage. Jeddahs youth, like those of many other countries, experiment with sex, drugs, and rock & roll. The only difference is that they have to do it behind closed doors. Ill give our exhausted diplomats, after a night of soft diplomacy, the last word.
Saudi youth get to enjoy relative social freedom and indulge fleshly [in] pursuits, but only behind closed doors and only the rich. Parties of this nature and scale are believed to be a relatively recent phenomenon in Jeddah.
WikiLeaks Reveals Sex, Drugs, And Rock & Roll In Saudi Arabia - Forbes
