tuque /tūk/ n Canadian English, var. toque [19th c. Canadian French, from the French toque, from the Basque tauka] 1 A close-fitting knitted cap, often with a long tapering end or tassel or pompom. 2 fig Something quintessentially Canadian.
souq /sūk/ n from the Arabic سوق var. souk 1 An open-air marketplace. 2 fig A central meeting place for the circulation of news and ideas.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Saudi executions down 33% in 2008, but the damned aren't consoled

The decapitation of Mohamad al-Sehimi in Saudi Arabia on December 30th brought the number of executions in the kingdom in 2008 to 102, which is way more than even Texas.

The Saudi record for executions in a year is 158, set last year, according to Amnesty International.

For 2009, whither Mohamed and Sultan Kohail, the Canadian brothers on death row in Saudi Arabia for allegedly causing the death of a classmate in a schoolyard skirmish? Ever since our government went on a 7-week holiday, there's been no update on the status of the Harper clique's attempt to bring the brothers home.

The Kohails remain on death row in Saudi Arabia, facing execution by beheading. They are not alone. Rizana Nafeek faces the death penalty any day now for the alleged killing of a child she was babysitting; she was 17 at the time and never saw a lawyer on her way to sentencing. She's also not a Saudi national, rather a foreign worker like much of the kingdom's labour force.
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