Oil and Islam continue to define Saudi Arabia's room for maneuver. With global demand unlikely to wane in the foreseeable future and reserves elsewhere diminishing, oil will continue to keep the kingdom rich for decades to come. At the same time, the Saudis' attachment to their faith is not diminishing; it may even be growing stronger. But the faith itself is changing in subtle ways.
Having gone through waves of progress and retrenchment during its 73 years as a unified kingdom, Saudi Arabia is now well into another period of rapid change. This time, however, the well-oiled complacency of the previous big boom, in the 1970s, is largely gone. Four years ago, a survey in this newspaper argued that it might require internal shocks to jolt the Saudis into taking reform. seriously. Those shocks have now arrived.
Since May 2003, when suicide bombers attacked a housing compound in Riyadh, terrorist violence has touched every corner of the kingdom, claiming some 200 lives. Saudi nationals, the most famous being Osama bin Laden, continue to be implicated in terrorist attacks abroad, most notably in Iraq. Yet far from rallying Saudis, terrorism has made them identify more closely with the state. More importantly, the violence has brought intense introspection and debate.
Long accustomed to blaming outside influences for all ills, Saudis now accept that the fixing needs to start at home. Aside from extremism, the problems of unemployment, poverty and the abuse of human rights have moved to the top of the national agenda. Even the most absolute of previous taboos, political reform, is being widely debated. In dozens of interviews with Saudis of all stripes, one phrase kept coming up: the question is no longer whether to reform/restructure/change, but how fast to do it.
The government's answer, to date, has been slow, and not very sure. But this survey will argue that far from being a dinosaur nation, lumbering to extinction, Saudi Arabia is capable of rapid evolution. On some important issues, such as the rules governing business, it is already far down the right track. On others, such as the ways it educates its youth and excludes women, the kingdom is only just beginning to shift course.
Most Saudis reckon it is premature to speak of democracy in their country; but there are myriad ways to emancipate citizens, from upholding the rule of law to making budgets more transparent and loosening the grip of security agencies over universities and the press. Instead of their old tactics of prevarication, slow consensus-building and co-optation, the A1Sauds should try a new one: putting trust in their people.
What can we learn about Saudi Arabia from Paragraph 1 ?
A. Saudi Arabia will be as rich as before and their people will believe in their faith firmly.
B. Saudi Arabian will not believe in their faith as firmly as before.
C. The oil produced in Saudi Arabia will diminish.
D. Saudi Arabia will no longer be a kingdom, and their people pursue democracy.
关于不作为犯罪,下列说法不正确的是:()A.副食商店的店主甲亲眼目睹了乙醉酒后打伤人的行为,在乙关于不作为犯罪,下列说法不正确的是:()
A. 副食商店的店主甲亲眼目睹了乙醉酒后打伤人的行为,在乙气势汹汹来买酒,并声称“要干点惊天动地的大事”时,仍然应乙的要求将高度白酒卖给了乙。乙喝下了买的白酒,在副食商店门口残忍地将一行人杀死。尽管副食店店主甲卖酒给乙,但仍不能成立不作为的故意杀人罪
B. 行为人甲盗掘古墓葬时,将他人的农舍挖垮,并将房主埋在瓦砾中,在主人呼救而盗墓者救助又比较容易时,甲为逃避追究而逃离现场,致使房主死亡。甲成立不作为的故意杀人罪和盗掘古墓葬罪,应数罪并罚
C. 行为人甲违反森林法的规定,非法采伐珍贵树木,树木倒下时砸着乙的头部,甲明知不立即救助乙就会导致死亡的后果,但未予救助独自离去,乙被砸死。甲成立不作为的故意杀人罪和非法采伐国家重点保护植物罪,应数罪并罚
D. 行为人甲交通肇事后,因担心受到法律处罚直接逃走,导致被害人得不到救助而死亡。甲成立不作为的故意杀人罪和交通肇事罪,数罪并罚