Head of Saudi religious police condemns treatment of nail polish girl while government accuses activist of "disrespect"

The head of Saudi's religious police "came out strongly" against the member of the CPVPV who was caught on a girl's cell phone camera ordering her to leave the mall for wearing nail polish. The video became a viral hit on the blogosphere.  The dislikes however, far outweighed the likes- 2,775 likes to 8,400 dislikes. "The world is manufacturing airplanes and we are still telling a woman, 'Leave the mall because you've got nail polish on your fingers,'" local news quoted Sheikh Abdullatif Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh as saying. Both parties, however, we're responsible for the escalation of the situation, according to al-Sheikh, "I was very disappointed by what I have seen.  The matter had been exaggerated and negatively exploited.  The way the member of the commission behaved sad most right, even if the girl had gone too far." The government's response was, to me, the embodiment of the one step forward, two steps back method of opening Saudi society.  This is especially true in light of the fact Saudi officials announced activist Waleed Abu Al-Khair was accused with "disrespecting" the judiciary by contacting foreign NGOs about a petition to release detainees.  It seems like the Saudis are going through the motions, but there remains a thick red line no one is allowed to cross.  This line ensures the perpetuation of the status quo.  How to reform if you can't change the status quo?? PS-It seems the Saudi trip had the opposite of the intended effect. It was to show us the soft side of Saudi in a PR type of way, but seeing the ridiculous and repressive rules, for both men and women, made me even more passionate about my beliefs about the government.