Monday, April 08, 2019
Facebook Are 'Morally Bankrupt Liars' Says New Zealand's Privacy Commissioner
New Zealand’s privacy commissioner has lashed out at social media giant Facebook in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, calling the company “morally bankrupt pathological liars”.
The commissioner used his personal Twitter page to lambast the social network, which has also drawn the ire of prime minister Jacinda Ardern for hosting a livestream of the attacks that left 50 dead, which was then copied and shared all over the internet.
“Facebook cannot be trusted,” wrote Edwards.
“They are morally bankrupt pathological liars who enable genocide (Myanmar), facilitate foreign undermining of democratic institutions. » | Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin | Monday, April 8, 2019
Labels:
Facebook
Theresa May erklärt im Video das Brexit-Chaos
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Brexit ist für Deutsche das wichtigste politische Thema »
Labels:
Brexit,
Deutschland,
Theresa May
Sunday, April 07, 2019
Why the War on Meat? Find Out Here from Dr. Gary & Belinda Fettke
I Support Gary »
Battle for Tripoli Escalates as Fighting Nears Libyan Capital
The battle for Tripoli escalated on Sunday as a military assault on the city by the eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar led to 21 deaths and nearly 90 injuries, and international calls for calm were ignored.
As the fighting neared the capital, the UN issued a plea for a temporary ceasefire to allow the wounded to be evacuated. Hours earlier, the US announced it was withdrawing some of its troops from the country, citing deteriorating “security conditions on the ground”. India also withdrew a group of its peacekeepers, saying the situation in Libya had suddenly worsened.
The international airport 15 miles south of central Tripoli was a scene of fierce battles after Haftar claimed to have seized control of the area from the UN-backed government of national accord. » | Patrick Wintour and Chris Stephen | Sunday, April 7, 2019
Trump Under Fire over Islamophobia after Man Threatens to Kill Ilhan Omar
Donald Trump and Fox News are coming under fire for contributing to a climate of Islamophobia, following the arrest of a supporter of the president who threatened to kill Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota who was one of the first Muslim women elected to the US Congress. » | Ed Pilkington in New York | Sunday, April 7, 2019
Yuval Noah Harari - Q&A on Being Gay
Labels:
being gay,
Yuval Noah Harari
The Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi
‘It’s Dangerous to Go Out Now’: Young, Gay and Scared in Brunei
A day after it became legally possible to be stoned to death for having gay sex in Brunei, 21-year-old Zain* got a bitter taste of the new reality.
Walking down the street in skinny jeans and high-heeled boots, a flamboyant anomaly in the conservative sultanate, the university student became a target.
“I saw this van about 50 metres away,” said Zain, who is gay. “When the driver saw me, the van accelerated, just to run me over, but I dodged it. I was like, ‘Bitch, what the hell was that?’”
Last week Brunei – a tiny tropical nation on the island of Borneo, a former British protectorate that is home to 420,000 people – introduced harsh new sharia laws, including death by stoning for adultery and gay sex, and amputation of limbs for theft. » | Kate Lamb in Bandar Seri Begawan | Saturday, April 6, 2019
Saturday, April 06, 2019
RAF and Royal Navy Urged to Cut Ties to Sultan of Brunei over Anti-gay Law
The RAF and Royal Navy are under pressure to cut links with the sultan of Brunei amid a global backlash against his country’s decision to introduce death by stoning as punishment for homosexuality.
The calls came after crowds protesting against the country’s new draconian penal code surged through barriers outside the Brunei-owned Dorchester Hotel yesterday afternoon, forcing the police to stand in front of its doors.
More than 100 people, many bearing a mixture of rainbow flags, banners and placards, chanted “shame on you” outside the luxury hotel in Park Lane.
The protest was led by gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who said: “The sultan is copying the barbaric punishments by Isis in Syria and Iraq; enacting death by stoning for people found guilty of homosexuality, adultery and insulting the prophet Muhammad.
“He is comparable to the Isis fanatics who executed people for these so-called crimes during their murderous caliphate. Brunei should be isolated as a pariah state, just like Isis was.” » | Charles Richardson and Jamie Doward | Saturday, April 6, 2019
Friday, April 05, 2019
Companies Abandon Brunei's Dorchester Hotel over Gay Sex Law
High-profile events and awards shows have been cancelled at the Dorchester in London in protest at the decision of Brunei, the hotel’s ultimate owner, to make gay sex and adultery punishable by stoning to death.
The boycott against businesses owned by the Brunei state has continued to grow in recent days, following an outcry from LGBT campaigners including Sir Elton John over the introduction of the new rules, ordered by the sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.
With other celebrities including the actor George Clooney giving their support to the boycott campaign, a string of companies confirmed on Friday that they would no longer be using the five-star hotel’s facilities. The TV Choice awards, several major property companies and the Financial Times were among those that said they would be cancelling events. » | Jim Waterson, Media editor | Friday, April 5, 2019
Tucker Carlson’s White Power Hour Is Losing Tons Of Money
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange May Be Arrested Soon
The UK’s ‘Man at the EU’ on the Brexit Saga - and the Threat of No Deal
Labels:
Brexit
Européennes: le casse-tête de la participation britannique
La question de la participation du Royaume-Uni aux élections européennes - prévues entre les 23 et le 26 mai selon les pays - taraude les dirigeants l’UE depuis des mois. Si le Royaume-Uni est toujours dans l’UE le 23 mai, ce pays restera un État membre à part entière et devra participer aux élections. «Nous ne pouvons pas y échapper, indique Jean-Claude Piris, l’ex-directeur général du service juridique du Conseil de l’UE. Tout citoyen de l’Union a le droit de voter aux européennes. Dans ce cas précis, cela vaut pour les Britanniques et pour tous les citoyens européens qui vivent au Royaume-Uni.» » | Par Anne Rovan | vendredi 05 avril 2019
Tim Ryan: Working Class Needs Someone To Represent Them | Morning Joe | MSNBC
Labels:
Morning Joe,
MSNBC,
Tim Ryan
Lawrence's Last Word: Donald Trump's Worst Presidential Appointment | The Last Word | MSNBC
Holidays and Arms Deals with Brunei Don’t Trump Gay People’s Right to Exist
Gay lives either matter or they don’t. Declaring that you support LGBTQ rights is cost-free; so is wrapping yourself in the rainbow flag, smiling at a same-sex couple publicly holding hands with that “Good for you” look in your eyes, or waving on a Pride parade with your kids. But what happens when a dictatorship allied to Britain and linked to the British establishment announces that it will stone gay people to death and torture lesbians?
Our own government has failed this test. “The Sultan of Brunei has been a great friend of this country over many years,” cooed Mark Field, describing the country as a “friendly and generous place”, blaming Britain’s mate for getting “a little bit more devout as he got older”, and calling for a “positive and constructive dialogue on this issue”. On the spectrum of condemnation, this barely qualifies as mild tutting. Over the last few years, in our time-honoured tradition of flogging weapons to human-rights abusing despots, the British government has approved millions of pounds worth of arms licences to Brunei. » | Owen Jones | Friday, April 5, 2019
This is a wonderful article by Owen Jones. Don't miss reading it all. – MA
Thursday, April 04, 2019
Yemen War: Congress Votes to End US Military Assistance to Saudi Arabia
Congress has given final approval on a resolution to end American military assistance for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, in an unprecedented attempt to curtail the president’s power to go to war and a sweeping rebuke to Donald Trump’s foreign policy.
The House voted 247 to 175 to send the resolution to the president’s desk, where it is likely to be met with a veto. Sixteen Republicans broke ranks and joined Democrats in the effort. The Senate passed the resolution last month, with seven Republicans voting in favor of it.
The resolution’s passage sets up another confrontation between Congress and Trump, who has already threatened to veto it. The White House has said the resolution raises “serious constitutional concerns”. » | Lauren Gambino and Julian Borger in Washington | Thursday, April 4, 2019
The Guardian View on Brunei and Stoning: Don’t Leave It to Celebrities to Act
Brunei’s introduction of new laws allowing stoning for adultery and sex between men has sparked international outrage. Elton John and George Clooney’s calls for a boycott of luxury hotels owned by the tiny south-east Asian kingdom have grabbed the spotlight. The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has condemned the “cruel and inhuman” measures, as have the EU, Australia and others.
The punishment is only one of many horrifying changes in a penal code which also covers apostasy, amputation as a punishment for theft and flogging for abortions. Lesbian sex is punishable by 40 strokes of the cane as well as jail. In some cases children who have reached puberty are subject to the same penalties as adults; younger ones may be flogged. The sharia code was first introduced in 2013, and was supposed to be enacted gradually; following an outcry the government did not bring forward its harshest elements until now. Many suspect that the impact of declining oil revenues on public spending has left Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the longest-ruling absolute monarchs, keen to bolster support among conservative elements. » | Editorial | Thursday, April 4, 2019
Condemn Persecution of LGBT People in Brunei
Labels:
Brunei,
LGBT,
persecution
Will Saudi Arabia Go Nuclear? | Al Jazeera English
Photos have been published showing the reactor site in the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology on the outskirts of Riyadh. Construction is apparently nearly done around a vessel intended to contain atomic fuel.
Saudi Arabia is yet to sign up to an international framework aimed at ensuring atomic programmes are not used to build weapons. But what does all this mean for an already tense and volatile region?
Presenter: Hazem Sika | Guests: Ibrahim Fraihat, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Doha Institute; Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm, Professor of Journalism at the Fars Media Faculty under the Applied Sciences University; Mark Fitzpatrick, Director of the Non-Proliferation Program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies
Labels:
Inside Story,
MbS,
nuclear power,
Saudi Arabia
Le sultanat de Brunei se convertit à la charia la plus stricte
LE FIGARO: INFOGRAPHIE - Le petit État pétrolier a provoqué un tollé international en annonçant qu’il punirait l’adultère et l’homosexualité de la peine de mort par lapidation.
L’indignation de pays occidentaux, d’ONG ou de stars comme George Clooney face à des châtiments d’un autre âge n’y aura rien changé. L’État de Brunei a instauré ce mercredi une nouvelle législation d’inspiration islamique qui punit l’adultère et les rapports sexuels entre hommes de la peine de mort par lapidation. Ce petit pays pétrolier, situé sur l’île de Borneo et dirigé d’une main de fer par le sultan Hassanal Bolkiah depuis 1967, est ainsi devenu le premier gouvernement d’Asie du Sud-Est à appliquer au niveau national un Code pénal s’inspirant de la charia la plus stricte, à l’image de l’Arabie saoudite. Le nouveau texte prévoit, en outre, l’amputation d’une main ou d’un pied pour les voleurs. Le viol est aussi passible de la peine capitale, tout comme l’outrage au prophète Mahomet. Et les relations sexuelles entre femmes peuvent entraîner jusqu’à dix ans de prison. Certains articles, comme la lapidation pour homosexualité masculine concernent les musulmans comme les non-musulmans. » | Par Cyrille Pluyette, correspondant du Figaro à Pékin | jeudi 04 avril 2019
Salvini Aims to Forge Far-right Alliance ahead of European Elections
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of its far-right League party, will host a gathering of European far-right parties in Milan next week aimed at building an alliance before elections in May.
Salvini is attempting to position himself as the informal leader of Eurosceptic, populist forces in Europe, but it remains unclear whether any kind of formal coalition will work, given policy differences between parties and the tangled web of alliances already at play inside the European parliament.
Europe’s rightwing populists are in power in Italy, Hungary, Austria and Poland and are riding high in several countries including France and the Netherlands, and, according to polls, will make significant advances in May’s elections. However, they are not predicted to form a majority and most analysts believe they will struggle to present a united front. » | Shaun Walker in Budapest, Angela Giuffrida in Rome and Jon Henley in Paris | Thursday, April 4, 2019
Labels:
far-right,
Italy,
Matteo Salvini
Police amass 10,000 Officers in Preparation for No-deal Unrest
Police chiefs have voiced fears that inflammatory rhetoric from politicians and activists could fuel Brexit tensions as they revealed they have amassed their biggest ever peacetime reserve of 10,000 officers to deal with potential unrest in the event of no deal.
The chair of the National Police Chiefs Council, Martin Hewitt, warned “prominent individuals” involved in the protracted Brexit debate should avoid inciting anger given the “febrile” and “emotive” atmosphere, amid concerns of violence and disorder.
Hewitt said: “This is highly emotive ... I think there is a responsibility on those individuals that have a platform, and have a voice, to communicate in a way that is temperate and is not in any way going to inflame people’s views or cause any actions out of there.
“I think we are in an incredibly febrile atmosphere. There is a lot of angry talk that you can pick up if you look across social media.” » | Vikram Dodd, Police and crime correspondent | Thursday, April 4, 2019
Labels:
Brexit
Wednesday, April 03, 2019
Backlash as Brunei Introduces Death by Stoning for Homosexual Sex | ITV News
Brunei hat einen steinreichen Sultan und führt drakonische Strafen nach Scharia ein – was ist das für ein Land?
Eine Fläche von der Grösse des Kantons Bern und eine Bevölkerung in der Grössenordnung der Stadt Zürich – kein Wunder, steht der Ministaat Brunei kaum je im Zentrum der globalen Aufmerksamkeit. Nicht einmal Wahlen rücken das südostasiatische Land ab und zu ins Rampenlicht. Denn Wahlen gibt es nicht. Brunei ist eine absolutistische Monarchie, seit 51 Jahren regiert Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah mit uneingeschränkter Macht. Formell hält er auch die Portfolios als Ministerpräsident, Verteidigungs- und Aussenminister, und er steht den drei Universitäten des Landes vor. Mit einem geschätzten Vermögen von 20 Milliarden Dollar gehört er zu den reichsten Männern der Welt. » | Patrick Zoll | Mittwoch, 03. April 2019
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Barbarische Strafen für Ehebruch in Brunei » | Manfred Rist, Singapur | Mittwoch, 03. April 2019
Questioning Brunei's Consulate on Anti-LGBT Sharia Law Death Penalty | Janice Atkinson
Human Rights Watch: LGBT Law Will Turn Brunei into 'Human-rights Pariah'
The Sultan of Brunei’s Frugal Brother! »
Brunei Enacts New Penal Laws amid International Condemnation | #TheCube
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Brunei Introduces Death by Stoning for Gay Sex and Adultery » | Iliana Magra | Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Guaidó Stripped of Immunity by Venezuelan Legislators | Al Jazeera English
Labels:
Juan Guaidó,
Nicolás Maduro,
Venezuela
President Donald Trump's Day of Strange and Confusing Statements | The Last Word | MSNBC
Steinigung von Schwulen: George Clooney ruft zum Brunei-Boykott auf
Woman Claims Sultan of Brunei Breaks His Own Strict Law
Trump's Silence Is Deafening As Brunei's Brutal Anti-LGBTQ Laws Arrive
As of today, in Brunei, gay sex and adultery can be punished with death by stoning — and the president of the United States hasn’t said a word about it.
Donald Trump’s silence comes despite his administration’s announced campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality around the world — although that is something he seemed to have no clue about when questioned on it in February.
The small but oil-rich nation is an absolute monarchy ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who decided to set this new rule with little explanation to why.
"I want to see Islamic teachings in this country grow stronger," Bolkiah said on Wedneseday morning local time, according to AFP news agency, but did not mention the new laws.
Homosexuality has been illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison for some time already — and are connected to Bolkiah's 2014 pursuits to usher in more conservative laws. However this new era seems to promise a level of brutality that has put the global community on edge. » | Trudy Ring | Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Brunei Sultan Calls for Islamic Teachings to Be Strengthened as He Implements Death by Stoning for Gay Sex
The tough penal code in the tiny country on tropical Borneo island - ruled by the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah - is set to be fully implemented following years of delays.
The laws, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, will make Brunei the first place in East or Southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level, joining several mostly Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia.
Rape and robbery are also punishable by death under the code and many of the new laws, such as capital punishment for insulting the Prophet Mohammed, apply to non-Muslims as well as Muslims. » | Agence France-Presse | Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Trump Lashes Out at Germany over Military Budget | DW News
Labels:
Donald Trump,
DW News,
Germany,
military budget
Calls for Independent Probe Persist Six Months after Khashoggi Murder | Al Jazeera English
Labels:
Jamal Khashoggi,
MbS,
Saudi Arabia
Brunei Brings in Stoning to Death for Gay Sex, Despite Outcry
Brunei’s small underground LGBT community have expressed shock and dismay over Brunei’s plan to bring in the punishment of death by stoning for adultery and gay sex.
The laws were scheduled to be introduced on Wednesday in the tiny south-east Asian kingdom ruled by the all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
The new punishments, which also include amputation of hands and feet for thieves, will make Brunei the first country in east or southeast Asia to have a sharia penal code at the national level. Several mostly Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia also adhere to sharia law. » | Kate Lamb in Jakarta and agencies | Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Tuesday, April 02, 2019
König zahlt vier Kindern Khashoggis Schweigegeld
Tunis. Saudiarabien will die Kinder des ermordeten Journalisten Jamal Khashoggi mit hohen Summen finanziell entschädigen. Nach einem Bericht der „Washington Post“ erhalten die beiden Töchter und die beiden Söhne jeweils eine Vier-Millionen-Dollar-Villa in der Hafenstadt Jeddah, eine fünfstellige Monatszahlung sowie einen Millionenbetrag, dessen Höhe noch ausgehandelt werden muss. Die Luxusgebäude gehören zu einer Wohnanlage, in der der älteste Sohn Salah bereits ein Haus besitzt. Er arbeitet als Banker und ist der einzige der vier Nachkommen Khashoggis, der weiterhin in Saudiarabien leben möchte. » | Martin Gehlen | Dienstag, 02. April 2019
Labels:
Jamal Khashoggi,
König Salman,
MbS,
Saudi Arabien
Former German FM Sigmar Gabriel: MBS 'Overestimated His Position in Region' | Talk to Al Jazeera
Labels:
MbS,
Sigmar Gabriel,
Talk to Al Jazeera
The Life and Work of Slain Journalist Jamal Khashoggi | Al Jazeera English
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)



