Michelle and Vincent, I feel for you

Oh these poor two. Everyone is dumping on them, and all they wanted was a little action in the desert. A little kindness from a stranger, in a strange land. Michelle Palmer and Vincent Alcors met at a boozy get together in Dubai last week and several hours later, they were arrested for shagging on the beach.

Well, who hasn't this happened to? I joke. But while everyone else dumps on these two for being complete dummies, perhaps I can provide some perspective from (near) to the scene of the crime.

a) It can get very lonely in the desert.

b) Anyone who has ever attended one of the Friday brunches here in the UAE, the kind that set the wheels in motion for the Palmer-Alcors debacle, where the main attraction is that the champagne is all-you-can drink for hours, can attest they are D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-S. I so far have attended two of these little shindigs and kept my composure, but only because I was very hungover at one of them and at the other my boss was sitting across from me and there was a child present. I am also scared straight about making international headlines of any sort.

c) After living here for awhile, where it is pleasant and seems harmless and one rarely sees any police presence of any sort, it is easy to forget that the legal system can indeed be very harsh.

I hope these two get sorted soon.