In the past month or so, the Armenian Genocide has gotten lots of media attention. In the debate over whether the U.S. should recognize it as genocide, some people are saying that we need to be more concerned with our ally relations in the Middle East, despite the other side's insistence that we cannot be bullied into ignoring truth. Well, I read an article today that made me want to vomit, and it made me very sad that the U.S. in fact bows to the Middle East all the time, all because of the fact that they're our supposed "allies."

I read in the paper today that a Saudi woman was gang raped and, upon seeking justice, was punished for allowing herself to be with men she was not related to. The woman received 6 months in prison and 200 lashes for her "crime." Are you nauseous yet? The Canadians called it "barbaric," but the U.S. "stopped short of stronger language against its close ally in the Middle East." Too bad, because the woman's sentence was increased from 90 lashes to 200 due to the U.S.'s media attention. If we had given more than just media attention, and maybe flexed our own muscles in the Middle East for once and for real, over matters that affect human dignity, maybe this victim would not have been victimized twice. I don't understand how the U.S., the leader of the free world, is afraid to flex its muscles in the face of such obvious barbarism and denial of human rights and dignity. And we call these people our allies?