Monday, May 12, 2014
Suffering & Sorrow: Torture, Abuse Against Afghan Women On Rise
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Saudi Arabia Issues Deadly Mers Warning and Tells All People Handling Camels to Wear Face Masks and Gloves
Saudi Arabia has issued a rare public health warning to anyone handling camels as the country struggles to contain cases of a potentially deadly respiratory virus.
More than a quarter of those diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) have died, and as well as around 500 cases in the kingdom it has also spread to Europe and the US – where the first case was confirmed last month.
Health experts have warned that camels are the most likely animal source for the infection, which currently only rarely transfers from person to person.
The kingdom’s agriculture ministry issued a statement via the official Saudi Press Agency today which advised people to “exercise caution and follow preventive measures” when dealing with the animals, the first time it has done so in the time since Mers was first reported two years ago.
The country has a special association with camels based on its historically nomadic culture, and has reportedly largely avoided the issue of a link between Mers and the animals despite extensive research overseas. » | Adam Withnall | Sunday, May 11, 2014
We Should Hail the Celebrity Boycott of the Dorchester over the Sultan and Sharia Law
In his almost 50 years as a successful absolute ruler, the Sultan of Brunei has naturally encountered little opposition. It will have helped that criticism of the Brunei royal family, an outfit close to the heart of Prince Charles, is prohibited. Public gatherings of 10 or more people require a government permit. As for elections, there have not been any since 1962, when the British helped crush a popular uprising.
Accordingly, when the sultan announced the imposition of full sharia law, including stoning to death for adultery and homosexuality, and amputation for thieves, there was every reason to suppose this innovation, described by Amnesty as a return to the dark ages, would go swimmingly within the dictatorship and cause little trouble abroad.
His career in oppression has never, after all, impaired the Sultan's warm relations with the UK, which for some reason rents him a battalion of Gurkhas, or his business as a hotelier, proprietor of the Dorchester Collection. Unlike the Obamas, for instance, the Sultan was an honoured guest at the wedding of William and Kate; just last month Baroness Warsi, Britain's "human rights minister", allowed herself to be entertained by this supporter of laws which value her testimony at one half of a man's.
On the other hand, the Sultan has not previously annoyed Ellen DeGeneres, Stephen Fry, Richard Branson, much of the fashion industry and another force he is unlikely to encounter in his kingdom, the unionised LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender) activists, whose efforts brought his planned barbarism to celebrity attention. Now, days after the first phase of sharia law came into effect, the Sultan is, in fashion terminology, a thing. Boycotts are having a moment.
The Sultan's name is rubbished on Twitter, petitions are circulating, disrespectful placards and demonstrations assault his hotels in cities far beyond the reach of Brunei's sedition laws. In Beverly Hills, the council demands that the sultan sell up the Beverly Hills hotel or denounce his own legislation. Fry, who cancelled his own stay at the hotel group's Coworth Park, Ascot's "exclusive pampering destination", tweets followers to: "Take action against the Sultan of Brunei and his new anti-gay law by putting sanctions in place," while Yves St Laurent is one of several big names pitting fashion against sharia, with a pledge that, until the law is repealed in Brunei, none of its employees will stay in a Dorchester Collection property. Read on and comment » | Catherine Bennett | Saturday, May 10, 2014
Related »
Hollywood Turns on Sultan of Brunei
Amid the opulent surroundings of the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, for decades the scene of Hollywood power lunches and celebrity tete-a-tetes [sic], a pall has descended.
Secluded booths once occupied by A-listers who stepped in from Sunset Boulevard lie empty as waiters stand idly by under the green-striped ceiling, listening to a pianist play Coldplay's Viva La Vida.
The lounge, once frequented by stars from Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, has become an unfortunate casualty of a movie industry boycott aimed at the Sultan of Brunei, the hotel's ultimate owner.
Last week Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah confirmed he was pushing ahead with a plan to introduce Sharia law for the 70 per cent of his 400,000 subjects who are Muslims, and the first phase came into effect on Thursday.
Unsurprisingly, the prospect of punishments such as death by stoning for adultery and same-sex relationships, amputations by sword for theft, and 40 lashes from a rattan cane for drunkenness, has not gone down well in Hollywood and the Sultan has been unofficially declared persona non grata. Read on and comment » | Nick Allen, Los Angeles | Saturday, May 10, 2014
My comment:
I wonder what Prince Charles has to say about the introduction of full sharia'h law in the Sultanate of Brunei? After all, the Sultan is one of Prince Charles' big chums. – © Mark
This comment appears here too.
Related »
Prince Andrew Praises Bahrain, Island of Torture
The Duke of York will be the keynote speaker at a conference in London this Friday celebrating Bahrain as a place of religious freedom and tolerance of divergent opinions. Speaking during a visit to Bahrain last month, he said: "I believe that what's happening in Bahrain is a source of hope for many people in the world and a source of pride for Bahrainis."
This is very strange, as the island kingdom of Bahrain has a proven record of jailing and torturing protesters demanding democratic rights for the Shia majority, an estimated 60 per cent of Bahraini citizens, from the Sunni al-Khalifa monarchy. In its annual report on human rights, the US State Department identifies many abuses, the most serious of which include "citizens' inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention". It draws attention to the fact that "discrimination [has] continued against the Shia population".
None of this should be too surprising. In March 2011, the government in Bahrain crushed the Bahraini version of the Arab Spring, treating protesters and anybody associated with them, such as doctors who treated injured demonstrators, with extreme brutality. The Bahrain independent commission of inquiry, set up by the Bahraini government itself, described at least 18 different techniques used to mistreat or torture detainees including electric shocks, beating on the soles of the feet with rubber hoses, sleep deprivation and threats of rape. More than 30 Shia mosques, religious meeting places and holy sites were bulldozed on the pretext that they had no planning permission.
Prince Andrew has long and controversial experience of Bahrain which he used to visit frequently as special representative for trade and investment. In 2010, an excoriating account of Prince Andrew's behaviour was published in the Daily Mail by Simon Wilson, British embassy deputy chief of mission in Bahrain from 2001 to 2005, who wrote that the prince was known to the British diplomatic community as HBH: His Buffoon Highness. Read on and comment » | Patrick Cockburn | Sunday, May 11, 2014
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Margaret Thatcher – Capitalism and a Free Society
Council Expecting 'Firestorm' Over Islamist Schools 'Plot'
Schools in Birmingham at the centre of an alleged Islamist plot have been told to expect a “firestorm” when the results of a series of official inspections are published next month.
BBC Radio 4's Today programme reported that senior officials at Birmingham City Council suggested a report by Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, will focus on claims about the governance and leadership at the schools.
However teachers and governors are said to have been told at a meeting this week that the officials had seen no evidence of the alleged “Trojan Horse” plot.
The disclosure comes after the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it had found “concerted efforts” to infiltrate at least six schools in Birmingham. Head teachers also warned that schools across Britain are likely to have been targeted.
The acknowledgement from the professional body followed a series of exposés by The Telegraph which disclosed how alleged plot had put schools under pressure illegally to segregate classrooms and change teaching to reflect radical Islamic beliefs. » | Edward Malnick | Saturday, May 10, 2014
Friday, May 09, 2014
Worldwide Outcry: Online Activist Latest Victim Of Saudi Régime
Question Time: Thursday, May 8, 2014
US Condemns North Korea's Obama 'Monkey' Jibes
The United States has condemned descriptions in North Korean state media of President Barack Obama as a "crossbreed" and a "wicked black monkey".
A spokeswoman in Washington DC said the comments were "ugly and disrespectful".
The Korea Central News Agency had released stories that graphically described the US leader as a "monkey" in comments by North Koreans in the days after he paid a state visit to South Korea.
"How Obama looks makes me disgusted," said Kang Hyuk, a worker at the Chollima Ironworks Factory, in a translation by the NK News website.
"As I watch him more closely, I realise that he looks like an African native monkey with a black face, gaunt grey eyes, cavate [sic] nostrils, plump mouth and hairy, rough ears.
"He acts like a monkey with a red bum, irrationally eating everything," Mr Kang added. "Africa's national zoo will be the perfect place for Obama to live, licking breadcrumbs thrown by visitors." » | Julian Ryall in Tokyo | Friday, May 09, 2014
José Manuel Barroso: UK Will Not Stop EU from Building Much Closer Union
The EU will remain committed to "closer union" and Britain's "special case" will not lead to treaty change in the near future, Jose Manuel Barroso has warned the Prime Minister.
In a major speech the president of the European Commission acknowledged Britain's longstanding hostility to the EU but rejected David Cameron's demand for a treaty renegotiation to give the UK a special status over the next year.
"I do acknowledge that for historical, geopolitical and economic reasons the case of the UK may be seen as a special one. Precisely because of this, it would be a mistake to transform an exception for the UK into a rule for everybody else," he said.
"We can, and should, find ways to cater to the UK's specificity, in as much as this does not threaten the Union's overall coherence. But we should not confound this specificity - even if it is shared at some moments by several governments - with an overall situation of the Union."
Mr Barroso's comments, similar to those made by the German Chancellor and French President, are a setback for Mr Cameron who has asked for the EU treaty's commitment to "ever closer union" to be scrapped or amended so it does not include Britain. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Thursday, May 08, 2014
Thursday, May 08, 2014
It's Up To Retailers Whether They Clearly Label Halal Products, No 10 Says
David Cameron has refused to call for clearer labelling of halal products in supermarkets and restaurants.
Downing Street has said that the Prime Minister has “no concerns” about the meat that he buys and said it is for retailers and restaurants to decide whether to provide more information about halal products.
It came just hours after Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, called for clearer labelling of all halal meat products.
Mr Clegg said that while he had “no problem” eating a pizza with halal meat, it would be “relatively straightforward” for businesses to tell people how the meat they were eating “arrived on their plates”.
His comments echoed those made by religious leaders, who have said that shoppers must be told exactly how animals have been killed through clear labelling on food packaging.
In a letter to the Telegraph, the faith leaders suggested that all menus and packets should specify how animals have been slaughtered regardless of whether they are kosher or halal.
Their intervention follows disclosures that diners have been unknowingly served halal chicken in Pizza Express and other restaurant chains.
More than 70 per cent of all New Zealand lamb in supermarkets is from halal abattoirs – a fact not stated on labelling. » | Peter Dominiczak, Assistant Political Editor | Thursday, May 08, 2014
Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Christians 'Crucified Again' for Refusing Islam
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| Raymond Ibrahim is author of 'Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians' |
While the Daily Mail is to be commended for exposing these barbaric acts-along with posting photos of the crucified-it nonetheless minimized their significance, in two important ways: 1) by repeatedly saying things like "even al-Qaeda is distancing itself from ISIL," and so implying that the act of crucifixion is some wild aberration that even the poster-child of jihadi terror, al-Qaeda, wants nothing to do with it; and 2) ignoring the much "sexier" story that Christians in Syria are also being crucified simply for refusing to embrace Islam (as opposed to the rather mundane but politically more correct story of Islamic jihadis crucifying each other in the context of vendetta killings).
Consider the atrocities earlier committed in Ma'loula, Syria, an ancient Christian village where the inhabitants still spoke Aramaic, the language of Christ.
According to recent Arabic news media, "a Syrian nun testified to the Vatican news agency that some Christians in Ma'loula were crucified for refusing to convert to Islam or pay jizya" (tribute subjugated Christians are required to pay to their Islamic conquerors in order to exist as Christians, per Koran 9:29).
Incidentally, they were crucified by the al-Qaeda linked Nasra Front (so much for Daily Mail's portrayal of al-Qaeda "distancing" itself from the apparently "extra-extremist" ISIL for crucifying its victims).
Sister Raghad, the former head of the Patriarchate School in Damascus who currently resides in France, told Vatican Radio how she personally witnessed jihadi rebels terrorize Ma'loula, including by pressuring Christians to proclaim the shehada-Islam's credo that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger-which, when uttered before Muslim witnesses transforms the speaker into a Muslim, with the death penalty for apostasy should the convert later "renege" by returning to Christianity. » | Raymond Ibrahim, CP Op-Ed Contributor | Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Iran Bans WhatsApp After Facebook Purchase because Zuckerberg "Is an American Zionist"
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the ban has triggered “an open dispute” within the Iranian government, especially in the light of President Hassan Rouhani’s recent shift towards more moderate policies for the Islamic Republic.
The ban was announced by the secretary of the Committee for Determining Criminal Web Content Abdolsamad Khorramabadi who has been quoted as saying that "the reason for this is the adoption of WhatsApp by the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is an American Zionist." » | James Vincent | Wednesday, May 07, 2014
HAARETZ: Rohani rejects Iranian WhatsApp ban: Iranian president orders a stop to the proposed ban by the Iranian censorship committee. » | JTA | Wednesday, May 07, 2014
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
World's First Trillionaire Is Alive Today
The owner of such a sum would be wealth enough to give out $140 to everyone on the planet, or – if the whim took them - buy the entirety of central London at today’s real estate prices, as The Times [£] has recently reported. » | James Vincent | Tuesday, May 06, 2014
François Hollande versus the French People: President Flops in TV Questioning
He took questions from listeners, including a 61-year- old woman who asked him whether he could live on her €662 (£550) monthly pension. “No,” he replied.
Earlier, the BFM TV interviewer Jean-Jacques Bourdin took a leaf out of Jeremy Paxman’s book to accuse the President of “amateurism” and of conducting a “reckless” private life which had cheapened the presidency. “You talk about [economic] recovery,” said Bourdin, “where is it?”
The Socialist President, who admitted to “regrets”, batted away the criticism and vowed to speed up economic reforms. He said that he should be judged on results “at the end of my mandate” in 2017. » | Anne Penketh | Paris | Tuesday, May 06, 2014
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