Thomas Friedman visits Saudi Arabia for a few hours and he learns so much there

This is happening with increasing regularity: Westerners visit Saudi Arabia and come back telling us that Saudis are thrilled over their despot.  This is like those media tour that Nazis gave in the 1930s in which they conveyed that Jews are fine in Germany under Hitler.  Those who report that Saudis love their despot: do they know that you would go to jail if you disapprove of the ruler? If you don't express support for the ruler you can go to jail. Even princes (cousins of the ruler) who disapproved even mildly of the new ruler, went to jail on charges of corruption.  As for Thomas Friedman: remember after Sep. 11 when Friedman also visited Saudi Arabia and expressed great excitement over the "reforms" of Crown Prince Abdullah?  Or when Barbara Walters reported that Abdullah is such a reformist and modern that he watches 4 TV screens at the same time.