The Religious Policeman (who regular readers will remember is actually neither) has this look at "booze culture" in Saudi Arabia:

The article in the Khaleej Times is a classic expose of the alcohol trade amongst our Third World guests. Entitled "Saudis shocked at discovery of wine factories", (which is like "Kansas shocked at discovery of cornfields" or "French shocked at discovery of vineyards"), it makes for fascinating reading.

In the "only vaguely related because I need to finish cleaning the garage" category, our other cultural ambassedor Azrael has this look at what Japan is like when typhoons are near:

Japan occasionally gets hit by typhoons. Some areas can get hit pretty badly, which sucks. The thing about typhoons though, is that if one is coming or even looks like it's coming to the area, a typhoon warning is issued. If the warning comes out, then school is CANCELLED for that day. Even if you're already in the middle of the day, school is done, everybody go home. So, while typhoons are usually a bad thing, the prospect of school getting cancelled is a VERY GOOD THING.

Remember that Japan employs a near-suicidal workforce, one that prompted Ms. Americanized to wish for her country to be bombed back to the stone age, as it just might get her a day off. In that context, Japanese people won't sweat a little wind and rain if it gets them an early day off work.

Enjoy!