TWATs for Week Ending 3/20/22

It is with great joy that I open with this bit of news – Raif Badawi https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/raif-badawi-freedom-1.6381576 has been freed!! According to Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/11/saudi-blogger-raif-badawi-released-from-prison “A Saudi security official also confirmed that Badawi was no longer in prison, and said that he had been “released today”. That is as of March 11, 2022.

One point that must be kept in mind, Raif's sentencing also included a 10-year travel ban as well as a 10 year social media ban. It is with great hope my next mention of Raif will will be his departure from Saudi and stepping into the embrace of his wife and 3 kids.

As I noted in episode 3 (2/27/22), the Florida House passed the Parental Rights in Education bill. https://time.com/6155905/florida-dont-say-gay-passed/ What critics are calling, once one gets passed the headlines, the “Don't Say Gay” bill has now passed the Florida Senate and is awaiting DeSantis' signature.

What is concerning, the broad wording of the law could open the door for lawsuits about instruction provided in grade levels higher than the third grade.

“Let us be clear: should the vague language of this bill be interpreted in any way that causes harm to a single child, teacher, or family, we will lead legal action against the State of Florida to challenge this bigoted legislation,” tweeted the LGBTQ advoacy group Equality Florida on Tuesday.

Constitutionally teachers have little to rely on, students OTOH have the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School. The Supreme Court held that schools could not shut down student speech without passing the "substantial disruption" test.

Texas and Florida are in a race to the bottom regarding LGBT+ issues and the treatment of kids in public schools. Sadly 7 other states will be joining them shortly.

(See also:: OA577: This Week in ‘Republicans Are Horrendously Evil’ https://openargs.com/oa577-this-week-in-republicans-are-horrendously-evil/)

 

I have read some crazy shit in my day, but this has got to be a new one. https://www.vice.com/en/article/pan939/chinese-woman-inject-herself-fruit-juice-nearly-dies

“I had thought fresh fruits were very nutritious and it would not do me harm by injecting them into my body” Zeng told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald.

It's nice to realize that medical stupidity is a global problem!!

 

With as vocal as Michele Bachmann has been of late, I am seriously wondering if she is considering a comeback in 2024. What I am contemplating, what reality does she lives in. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=335495048613555

 

A lawmaker in Russia has demanded the United States return Alaska to Russia as a reparation for American-led sanctions crippling his country's economy following the invasion of Ukraine.

Parliament member Oleg Matveychev made those demands, along with saying he also wanted America to return Fort Ross in California, during an interview on Sunday,,, https://wjactv.com/news/nation-world/russian-lawmaker-demands-america-return-alaska-and-pay-reparations-due-to-sanctions-ukraine-oleg-matveychev-kremlin-fort-ross-california-antartic-ocean-economy

 

But,,, this is what scarce me,

In the surreal world of Russian state television, Russia is about to prevail in its war against Ukraine, which is being presented as a battle against the United States and NATO. According to top Kremlin propagandists, it’s only a matter of time before the West admits its defeat and pays reparations to Moscow or risks a devastating nuclear strike. https://www.thedailybeast.com/wild-kremlin-tv-hosts-threaten-the-us-with-nuclear-strikes-unless-sanctions-end-and-reparations-are-paid

A scary read!!

 

Lauren Witzke, the Delaware GOP's candidate for Senate in 2020, declares that we should bring back arranged marriages while interviewing far-right streamer Jared Noble (aka "Woozuh") who says that "women are currency to be bartered and traded." https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=247183727537356

Troll or not this biotch is agreeing with every word he says. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=247183727537356 If she likes her podcasting she may want to reconsider her stance.

 

And this ding-dong would have no memory of the damage the Satanic Panic caused, specifically the McMartin Trials https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial and the Oak Hill Satanic Ritual Abuse trials of Fran and Dan Keller. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Hill_satanic_ritual_abuse_trial

As Hemant notes, https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/gop-candidate-witches-at-my-preschool-tried-luring-me-into-satanism/

It’s not the first time Hamm has said something like this. Last September, she claimed God wanted her to run for office and that her ten-year-old son was a prophet. In October, she told an audience about a dream she had that included a robber, prayer, and a dead neighbor witch lady. (When asked for evidence, she said she had none.) And this past January, she told a long story about selling her house after her “prophet” son told her to,,,

Hamm is a Republican candidate to become California’s next Secretary of State.

 

It's hard to believe that 6 1/2-7 yrs on, I am STILL freaking writing about this case. It was 2015 when Kim Davis https://www.wkyt.com/2022/03/18/breaking-federal-judge-rules-kim-davis-violated-couples-constitutional-rights-will-go-trial-over-damages/ had her 15 minutes of fame. But it has taken a federal judge this long to rule that the former Rowan County Clerk violated the constitutional rights of two same-sex couples when she denied them marriage licenses during the summer of 2015. The judge David L. Bunning granted summary judgment in a civil lawsuit that the two couples, David Ermold and David Moore, and James Yates and Will Smith, filed against Davis.

No decision has been made yet on whether Davis will be on the hook for the legal fees accrued over the six-and-a-half years of litigation. 

 

With that, I bring this weeks episode to a close by presenting YTer TREY the Explainer. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOuWeOkMrq84u5LY6apWQ8Q

As Trey notes in his tag line, “Explain Everything...and more!”

January 21, 2016::End of the day round-up

Four big myths about “alternative” medicine

The crux of the matter is, people spend money on a non-existent product. It’s like buying a detergent that’s only crystals of salt; or buying a computer made of wood, and being told it will be functional. The King is simply Naked. What you’re buying isn’t there, which makes it -at the very least- a consumer advocacy concern. It’s conning people out of their money, and very few of them will actually get better because of the placebo effect. Most will simply lose their money and be exactly where they already were.

That adds false hope to the mix. Hope can be helpful, but also dangerous for a person’s well-being. Promising things you can’t deliver is like paying with a check that will bounce. Sure, it will make the person feel better when you give it to them, only to crush them later when they try to cash it.

Glyphosate, or Roundup, is a popular herbicide that's been used on lawns, gardens, schools, parks, farms, etc for nearly 50 years and is available at any Walmart or Home Depot as a weedkiller. But just how toxic is it?

You may be surprised to learn it has an LD50 of 5600 mg/kg, making it less toxic than table salt. Unfortunately, people sometimes listen to media scare tactics before ever taking a look at the actual toxicity, dosage, or chemistry behind these substances. Fear sells. Many "natural" chemicals are far more toxic...."natural" vs. synthetic tells us nothing in terms of toxicity.

,,,many products labeled "non-GMO" were never GMO to begin with,,,

Two days from the "5th Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion" which is taking place on January 23, 2016. Here is part 3 of 4 from 2014 to tickle your appetite.

A Reason To Believe: A Documentary Film by Ben Fama Jr

A thought-provoking documentary film that examines the hard questions of the psychology of belief and why we believe.

Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway, Hides For 80 Years

They call it "Ball's Pyramid." It's what's left of an old volcano that emerged from the sea about 7 million years ago. A British naval officer named Ball was the first European to see it in 1788. It sits off Australia, in the South Pacific. It is extremely narrow, 1,844 feet high, and it sits alone.

What's more, for years this place had a secret. At 225 feet above sea level, hanging on the rock surface, there is a small, spindly little bush, and under that bush, a few years ago, two climbers, working in the dark, found something totally improbable hiding in the soil below. How it got there, we still don't know.

I know I have posted Lykova's story before, damned if I can find it,,,

Hermit Meets 21st Century After Being Flown To Siberian Hospital https://t.co/ETQunUNOnW - Not a story for "weird news" an amazing woman!

Ottawa says it won’t grant imprisoned Saudi blogger Canadian citizenship

The Trudeau government says it won’t grant imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi Canadian citizenship, arguing this would not help the case of a man sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for blasphemy.

Mr. Badawi’s spouse and their three children were granted sanctuary in Canada last year and now live in Sherbrooke, Que. Ensaf Haidar, speaking to The Globe and Mail last week, said Canada must do more to help her husband and said “the first thing” it could do now is give Mr. Badawi a Canadian passport.

She argued Canadian citizenship would give Ottawa more standing to push for his release.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion disagrees. Speaking after a cabinet retreat in southwestern New Brunswick Tuesday, he said he doesn’t believe Canadian citizenship would improve Mr. Badawi’s situation.
,,,
Granting Ms. Haidar’s request could complicate Canada’s relations with Saudi Arabia and jeopardize a $15-billion deal to sell weaponized armoured vehicles to Riyadh over 14 years.

January 8, 2016::End of the day round-up (pg 2)

You’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer. How soon do you need treatment?

When a patient with breast cancer comes in to see me, not infrequently I have to reassure her that she doesn’t need to be wheeled off to the operating room tomorrow, that it’s safe to wait a while. One reason, of course, is that it takes years for a cancer to grow from a single cell to a detectable mass. The big question, of course, is: What is “a while”? Two studies published online last month attempt to answer that question. One study (Bleicher et al) comes from Fox Chase Cancer Center and examines the effect of time to surgery on breast cancer outcomes; the other (Chavez-MacGregor et al) is from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and examines the effect of time to chemotherapy on outcome. Both find a detrimental effect due to delays in treatment.
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I realize that these two studies are about as close to “Well, duh!” studies as there are. Of course, delaying surgery for breast cancer is not a good thing. Of course, delaying chemotherapy when it’s indicated is also not a good thing. These are results that are not unexpected. However, these studies are still very important because they give us estimates of how much of a delay is safe and at what point delaying care starts to have a measurable impact on patient outcomes. Putting the results of these studies together suggests that it’s best to do surgery within about 60 days in patients not needing chemotherapy first, and that for patients with disease lacking the estrogen and progesterone receptor it’s best to start chemotherapy within 90 days of surgery.
,,,
This sort of analysis is also yet another bit of data demonstrating that conventional treatments work. After all, if a conventional treatment didn’t work, it wouldn’t matter how long you waited to administer it. For instance, if you treated a woman with breast cancer with homeopathy right away, the results would be the same if you waited 120 days. I’ve discussed examples of patients who paid a steep price for their delaying effective treatments for their cancers, beginning with breast cancer patients over eleven years ago and a man I encountered as a resident with rectal cancer who had turned himself orange with megadoses of carrots trying to treat his disease. We also know that the use of alternative medicine as a primary treatment in breast cancer is associated with recurrence and death. Using alternative therapy for breast cancer is a good way to die when you don’t have to or to die sooner than you would otherwise. Refusing surgery also results in death.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Say God Used a Typhoon to Deliver Sand for the Building of a New Kingdom Hall

In the latest episode of the Jehovah’s Witness’ online show JW Broadcasting, construction overseer Travis Brooks explains how sand was hard to come by when his team was building a new hall. But Jehovah answered their prayers by way of a supernatural disaster.

Raif Badawi supporters to give petition to Saudi embassy in London

Supporters of Raif Badawi, the jailed Saudi activist and blogger, plan to hand over a petition with 250,000 signatures to the Saudi embassy in London on Friday [today] calling for his release.

A separate petition for the release of Badawi’s lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, will also be handed over to mark a year since Badawi received 50 lashes in a public square in Jeddah. He was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam.

Meet Marco Rubio's 'Religious Liberty Advisory Board'

Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign has announced its creation of a Religious Liberty Advisory Board that includes Religious Right legal and political activists, including academics and some big names, like Rick Warren of Saddleback Church.

The list could be seen as a response by Rubio’s campaign to last month’s closed-door meeting at which “dozens” of Religious Right leaders voted to rally behind his rival, Sen. Ted Cruz. But Rubio’s director of Faith Outreach, former Manhattan Declaration Executive Director Eric Teetsel, told World Magazine that “membership on the board doesn’t equal an endorsement of the GOP candidate, and the members could advise other campaigns if they wanted.”
,,,
Also on Rubio’s advisory board are people affiliated with legal groups promoting Religious Right efforts to portray LGBT equality and religious liberty as incompatible, including Doug Napier and Kellie Fiedorek of Alliance Defending Freedom and Kyle Duncan, lead counsel for the Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby, and former general counsel of the Becket Fund, which was once described in Politico as “God’s Rottweilers.”

Formerly known as the Alliance Defense Fund, ADF is a heavyweight among Religious Right legal groups, and is spreading its anti-gay, anti-choice advocacy worldwide. Fiedorek argues that the “agenda to expand sexual liberty and redefine marriage” puts religious liberty in “great peril.” She has compared business owners who refuse to provide wedding-related services to same-sex couples to Rosa Parks.

ISIS’ War On Children

The reasons for indoctrinating children are both strategic and optic. By training and filming children along with its fighters, ISIS presents its brand of militancy as a family affair — and the family as integral to the state it’s created.
“Children are shown in propaganda videos for calculated psychological value,” Rachel Bryson writes in the Independent. “It aims to arouse global fear through portraying to the world that it is a powerful and fully-functioning state, fueling a multi-generational war.”

That fear seems deliberate on the part of ISIS, which has developed a specialized curriculum and camps to indoctrinate children into their extremist world view — and train them to defend it. Children of ISIS fighters and sympathizers are reared in ISIS’ ideology and trained to fight in camps far from their parents’ reach.

January 7, 2016::End of the day round-up

Gordon Klingenschmitt Says Gays Are Driven By A 'Demonic Spirit Of Lust' To Persecute Christians

"They're coming after us," Klingenschmitt warned. "They don't care about the First Amendment. They don't care about the Constitution. They just want power. And this is not about sexuality any more, it's about power and that's a demonic spirit of lust; not just lust for another man, but lust for power over the Christian people who yearn to breathe free":

Court: Christians rejected as foster parents for spanking kids suffered no constitutional violation

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Monday that the substantial burden on couple’s religious beliefs was outweighed by the state’s interest in protecting the emotional and physical well-being of foster children, report the Legal Profession Blog, the Worcester Telegram, the Boston Globe and the State House News Service.

The court ruled against Gregory and Melanie Magazu of Fitchburg, who disclosed they have spanked their two daughters on the buttocks with an open hand in the privacy of their bedrooms. Spanking is only a small part of their parenting style, the Magazus said, and it is used only when necessary.

The Magazus said they were willing to refrain from spanking foster children, and said the foster children would not witness the spankings of their daughters because they were carried out in private. The Department of Children and Families denied the Magazus’ foster application, citing the Magazus’ use and belief in corporal punishment as an appropriate and effective means of discipline for their children.

Father of Bristol’s newborn daughter sues for child support — so Sarah Palin goes bonkers

Besides child support, the lawsuit also demands that Meyer be allowed to list the girl as a dependent on his income tax returns in alternating years. Bristol Palin has earned as much as $262,000 as a public speaker regarding teen pregnancy. Her mother, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), quickly denounced Meyer’s lawsuit as his attempt to “save face.”

“For many months we have been trying to reach out to Dakota Myers, [sic]” the former vice-presidential nominee said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “He has wanted nothing to do with either Bristol’s pregnancy or the baby.”

PeTA feeds Oregon terrorist vegan jerky, enabling terrorism for media attention

The publicity stunt was intended to raise awareness asking the ranchers slash terrorists to “raise crops, not cows.”

In reality, the publicity stunt did nothing but offer support to the wannabe freedom fighters and will do nothing to convince these men to adopt a vegan lifestyle.

Perhaps for PeTA’s next stunt, they can deliver vegan tofurkey’s to ISIS.

Saudi Arabia: 'one year since flogging' vigil (Fri 8 Jan) for Raif Badawi as crackdown intensifies

Amnesty International is holding a protest vigil for the jailed blogger and free speech activist Raif Badawi outside the Saudi Arabia Embassy in central London on Friday morning to mark the one-year anniversary of his flogging last year, as a human rights crackdown in the Kingdom continues to intensify.
,,,
Despite an international outcry - including demonstrations around the world and over one million people supporting an Amnesty campaign for the blogger - Mr Badawi, a 31-year-old father-of-three, is still in jail and could still be flogged at any time.

Amnesty activists will take a 250,000-strong petition calling for Mr Badawi to be released to the Saudi embassy, as well as a separate petition for the release of Badawi’s lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, who has also been unfairly jailed in the country’s human rights crackdown.

House Republicans define insanity, vote to repeal Obamacare. Again.

You might remember that the Senate passed this resolution back in December. In order to talk their extremists out of trying to shutdown government again over Planned Parenthood and Obamacare, Republican leadership promised them they get this vote, and that they would really stick it to Obama by making him veto it. They did that under special budgetary rules known as reconciliation which allows a bill to pass with a simple majority vote—Democrats in the Senate couldn't filibuster it. So, here we are.

 NM judge wants to cut sex-offense sentence for cult leader Wayne Bent

Bent, who’s been in prison for nearly seven years, also was convicted of criminal sexual contact and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Bent, also known as Michael Travesser, was the leader of a religious community called the Strong City compound. He was charged with criminal sexual contact with minors based on ceremonies he claimed were cleansing
ceremonies, convicted in a jury trial in Taos in 2008 and sentenced to 10 years.

Bent claims God spoke to him in 2000 and told him he was the messiah.

He was accused of lying in bed with naked 14- and 16-year-old sisters in separate incidents in 2006. He and the girls testified that the incidents were spiritual exercises and that nothing happened sexually.

In October 2012, the New Mexico Supreme Court overturned a state Court of Appeals ruling and reinstated Bent’s convictions, saying that even though his sex crimes indictment was flawed, the remedy could not be a new trial.

January 4, 2016::End of the day round-up

Gay Malawian appeals for justice; now he’s in hiding

Friends stopped coming to chat at his place, some sent him messages explaining that they cannot go on chatting with a Satanic; one person went up to throwing a stone at him as he walked by.

“I withdrew, I stayed indoors. My brother heard of the rumours and he told me that as much as he hopes that I will stop being gay, the family cannot disown me but again they cannot support me in my being gay.”

Nobody has ever told his father fearing that his frail heart will topple over. The father however has also heard of the rumours and when he asked Fortune, he flatly denied all in the name of protecting the father from a heart attack.

This is Why She Left the Jehovah’s Witnesses (VIDEO)

‘Christian’ Preachers: God Has Very Good Reason Why We Need Our Private Jets

The prosperity gospel is possibly the most deceptive “gospel” in all of Christianity. It involves preachers telling their parishioners, “Give me money, and God will return it to you ten-fold,” more or less, and people buy it, making these preachers rich. Two such preachers, Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis, used the prosperity gospel along with their god to justify having enough wealth for private jets, and it’s probably as close to the opposite of Christianity as one can get.

First off, Copeland and Duplantis both say that God wants to keep them off of the airlines because of dope-filled air full of demons. Copeland explained how Oral Roberts used to fly airlines, and people would bother him by asking him to pray for them and such. They can’t deal with all of that now. They can’t get to their flocks, to the world, to help God make things right, without their wealth and their private jets. They need their jets for that – it’s what God wants.

Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi's health deteriorating, wife says

A member of Amnesty International in Canada and a spokeswoman for the Canadian government both said they were unable to confirm the hunger strike.

"Canada remains very concerned by the situation of Mr Badawi and we will continue to call for clemency to be granted in his case," said government spokeswoman Rachna Mishra.

Mr Badawi, who created and managed an online forum, was found guilty in 2014 of breaking Saudi Arabia's technology laws and of insulting Islam. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes.

He received his first 50 lashes in January, prompting strong criticism in Western countries of the kingdom's human rights record.

"I am very worried about him," Ms Haidar said on Thursday. "His health, both physical and mental, is very poor."

She said she last spoke with her husband two weeks ago, and had been kept informed of Mr Badawi's condition by a contact in Saudi Arabia whom she declined to identify.

Cruz tells volunteers: “strap on the full armor of God”

"I want to tell everyone to get ready, strap on the full armor of God, get ready for the attacks that are coming," a hoarse-sounding Cruz told volunteers on a conference call. "Come the month of January we ain’t seen nothing yet."

Louisiana Courthouse Hosts Pro-Christian Signs from Government Agencies

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent separate letters to the Police Jury and Clerk of Court alerting them to the problem and requesting in writing how they plan to fix this in the future:
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There are ample private and church grounds where religious displays may be freely placed. Once the government enters into the religious business, conferring endorsement and preference for one religion over others, it strikes a blow at religious liberty, forcing taxpayers of all faiths and of no religion to support a particular expression of worship. We request a response in writing about the steps you are taking to remedy this violation of the First Amendment.

How Do You Help A Food Stamp Recipient Get A Job?

“I don’t think there’s anybody else in the country who can claim the kind of success we can claim,” Weber told ThinkProgress, “and it’s because we’re approaching things holistically.” That success is striking, according to numbers that Weber’s Fresno Bridge Academy has crunched on the economic impact of the 1,000-plus SNAP recipients who have found jobs through the group. Every dollar spent on the Bridge has returned $22.28 in economic benefits, the group told the Fresno Bee. Weber said in an interview that about $17 of that comes in the form of higher earnings for the family in question, “but $5.50 goes back to the taxpayers” in the form of reduced spending on SNAP and higher income tax collections.

Following Backlash, U.S. Air Force Academy Allows Football Players to Pray on the Field

The Academy reviewed and investigated the complaint, but concluded that players are free to follow their own religious beliefs.

“The United States Air Force Academy will continue to reaffirm to cadets that all Airmen are free to practice the religion of their choice or subscribe to no religious belief at all,” the USAFA said in a statement. “The players may confidently practice their own beliefs without pressure to participate in the practices of others.”

The MRFF released a statement Thursday expressing its discontent.

“By allowing public prayer by the football players in Air Force uniform, command is officially endorsing one religion–Christianity.”

Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi Gets Sakharov Prize, Top E.U. Human Rights Award - NYTimes.com

Raif Badawi, a blogger and activist who has been imprisoned and flogged publicly for criticizing Saudi Arabia’s religious establishment, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Union’s top human rights award, on Thursday.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, who announced the award, called Mr. Badawi “an extremely good man, an exemplary man who has had imposed on him one of the most gruesome penalties,” one that “can only really be described as brutal torture.” Mr. Schulz urged the Saudi king to “immediately grant mercy to Mr. Badawi and to free him so that he can accept the prize.”

He added, “In the case of Mr. Badawi, fundamental human rights are not only not being respected, they are being trodden underfoot.”

Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi Gets Sakharov Prize, Top E.U. Human Rights Award - NYTimes.com

Urgent Statement: Flogging of Raif Badawi will resume - Fondation Raif Badawi

I was informed by an informed source, that the Saudi authorities have given the green light to the resumption of Raif Badawi’s flogging. The informed source also said that the flogging will resume soon but will be administered inside the prison.

It is worth mentioning that the same source had warned me of Raif’s pending flogging at the beginning of January 2015 and his warning was confirmed, as Raif was flogged on 9th January.

While i do not understand this decision especially as Raif’s case is still being reviewed by the supreme court according to a senior source in the Saudi Ministry of Justice and according to the statement of UK Foreign Office minister, Tobias Ellwood, who told the House of Commons in July that my husband’s case was still being examined by Saudi judges.


Urgent Statement: Flogging of Raif Badawi will resume - Fondation Raif Badawi

UPDATED::Saudi Arabia: Juvenile prisoner faces 'death by crucifixion' after appeal is dismissed - Yahoo News UK

UPDATE:: The Prime Minister suggests that he will try and personally intervene with Saudi Arabian authorities in the case of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who has been sentenced to death, as he is tackled over the British response to human rights abuses.

UPDATE::  This is why Saudi should not be on the UN Human Rights Council!

Now, a group of UN human rights experts have penned a joint statement calling on Saudi Arabia to “immediately halt the scheduled execution” and give Mr al-Nimr “a fair retrial”.

The experts, including the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns and Benyam Mezmur, the chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, said imposing the death penalty on someone who was a child at the time of offending and after allegations of torture was “incompatible with Saudi Arabia’s international obligations”.

“International law, accepted as binding by Saudi Arabia, provides that capital punishment may only be imposed following trials that comply with the most stringent requirements of fair trial and due process, or could otherwise be considered an arbitrary execution,” they said.

“In light of reports that the trial against Mr al-Nimr fell short of such standards, we call upon the Saudi authorities to ensure a fair retrial of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, and to immediately halt the scheduled execution,” the experts added.

A prisoner in Saudi Arabia, who was sentenced to death as a child, faces "death by crucifixion" after a final appeal has been dismissed. Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested on 14 February 2012 when he was just 17, during a crackdown on anti-government protests in the Shiite province of Qatif. He was accused by the authorities of participation in illegal protests and of firearms offences, despite there being no evidence to justify the latter charge.

Ali was initially held at a juvenile offenders facility, where he was denied access to lawyers. Evidence indicates that he was tortured and forced to sign a document which was tantamount to a confession. The signed document formed the basis of the case against him and he was convicted of the alleged offences by the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC). However, the trials failed to meet international standards. Ali and his family have strongly denied the charges against him, but, after the final appeal - which was held in secret and without Ali's knowledge - was dismissed, there are few legal options remaining to oppose the sentence originally handed down on 27 May 2014. It is feared that Ali could be executed in a matter of days.

The case against Ali appears to be based on his familial connection to Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a 53-year old critic of the Saudi regime and a prominent religious leader in the Kingdom, who is his uncle. Mr Al Nimr was sentenced to death by crucifixion on charges including 'insulting the King' and delivering religious sermons that 'disrupt national unity'. This week, it emerged that the authorities plan to execute Ali's uncle on Thursday (17 September) sparking fears that his nephew will also be killed.

Saudi Arabia: Juvenile prisoner faces 'death by crucifixion' after appeal is dismissed - Yahoo News UK

Raif Badawi, Imprisoned Saudi Blogger, Is Awarded Free-Speech Prize - The New York Times

A Saudi blogger who was sentenced to prison and publicly flogged on charges that he had insulted Islam was awarded a major free -speech prize on Tuesday in London.

The blogger, Raif Badawi, was named the international co-recipient of Britain’s PEN Pinter Prize. He was chosen from a shortlist by the poet James Fenton, who was the British recipient of the award in June. Mr. Badawi is serving a 10-year sentence after his conviction last year on charges including “violating Islamic values and propagating liberal thought,” according to English PEN, the writers group that bestows the prize. A Saudi court fined him one million riyals, about $267,000, and sentenced him to receive 1,000 lashes spread out over 20 floggings.

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At a ceremony on Tuesday in London, Mr. Fenton said he was moved by the contrast between Mr. Badawi’s “liberal aims” and the “ferocity” of the punishment leveled against him.

“It is a world of inconceivable cruelty, but intimately linked to ours by business, strategic interests, military and diplomatic ties,” he said. “For our part, then, protest has a purpose and — who knows? — perhaps even a chance of some sort of success.”

Raif Badawi, Imprisoned Saudi Blogger, Is Awarded Free-Speech Prize - The New York Times

Anger after Saudi Arabia 'chosen to head key UN human rights panel' | World | News | The Independent

There are no words to describe the utter shock this news has generated:

The Saudi regime makes a mockery of every single American ideal. It bans freedom of speech, prohibits religious liberty, and executes accused adulterers and gays. By giving a pass to one of the cruelest dictatorships on Earth, we betray the very essence of the American experience.
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In its slavish, bi-partisan and seemingly bottomless appeasement of Saudi Arabia, the free world is exacerbating an already dangerous situation. The Saudi regime will fall, radicalism will rise, and terror will continue to spread. The West could improve the chances of stability and peace by supporting moderates, defending political prisoners and linking arms to improvements in human rights. The more open the society, the less it will threaten the world.

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The United Nations is coming under fire for handing Saudi Arabia a key human rights role even though the Kingdom has “arguably the worst record in the world” on freedoms for women, minorities and dissidents.

Critics, including the wife of imprisoned pro-democracy blogger Raif Badawi – sentenced to 1000 lashes for blogging about free speech – say that the appointment is “scandalous” and means that “oil trumps human rights”.

Mr Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, who is leading an international campaign to free her husband, said on Facebook that handing the role to Faisal bin Hassan Trad, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador at the UN in Geneva, was effectively “a green light to start flogging [him] again”.

UN Watch, an independent campaigning NGO, has discovered that Mr Trad, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador at the UN in Geneva, has been elected as chair of a panel of independent experts on the UN Human Rights Council.

Anger after Saudi Arabia 'chosen to head key UN human rights panel' | World | News | The Independent

ADDENDUM::For wife of imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi: ‘It’s a life of waiting’ - The Washington Post

Haidar, who lives in exile in Canada with their three young children, is in Washington this week, meeting with members of Congress and officials at the State Department trying to persuade the U.S. government to put more effort into seeking her husband’s release.
,,,
“He is just a blogger,” said Haidar, 36, a tiny woman whose speech is careful and contained, and without any trace of anger. “He has been away from his kids and his family for four years, and there is no valid reason for that. He’s just a very peaceful writer.”
,,,

“It’s time for the White House to make human rights in Saudi Arabia a top priority,” he said. “For too long the U.S. government has put geopolitics and the energy relationship over the basic freedoms and human rights of the Saudi Arabian people.”

Badawi’s case is seen by human rights groups as part of a campaign by the Saudi government to punish activists, bloggers, journalists and anyone else who challenges the country’s political or religious establishment.

He is the best known of about a dozen or so activists currently in Saudi jails, including Mohammad al-Qahtani, a human rights activist with a doctorate from Indiana University, and Waleed Abulkhair, a human rights lawyer who has represented Badawi. Qahtani is serving ten years, and Abulkhair is serving 15.

For wife of imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi: ‘It’s a life of waiting’ - The Washington Post

URGENT::Raif Badawi's wife outraged as UN appoints Saudi Arabia rep to lead human rights panel

As Ali Rizvi has stated, "This is why the Nobel Prize should step in and send a clear message from the civilized world:"

The United Nations has appointed Saudi Arabia representative Faisal bin Hassan Trad as head of a key human rights panel that is tasked with naming experts that determine global human rights standards. Among those criticising the UN for the appointment is non-governmental watchdog UN Watch and Ensaf Haidar, the wife of the imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi, who has been flogged in public in Saudi Arabia.

Haidar claimed that this will lead to Saudi being able to flog Badawi again. UN Watch has called upon US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and EU foreign minister Federica Mogherini to condemn the appointment.

UN Watch director Hillel Neuer said that the choice is scandalous, saying that the country has beheaded more people in 2015 than the Islamic State has. "Petro-dollars and politics have trumped human rights," he said. "Saudi Arabia has arguably the worst record in the world when it comes to religious freedom and women's rights, and continues to imprison the innocent blogger Raif Badawi.

"This UN appointment is like making a pyromaniac into the town fire chief, and underscores the credibility deficit of a human rights council that already counts Russia, Cuba, China, Qatar and Venezuela among its elected members."

Raif Badawi's wife outraged as UN appoints Saudi Arabia rep to lead human rights panel

Here's Why Blogger Raif Badawi Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize | Ali A. Rizvi

Ali asks a pertinent question surrounding Raif's plight and the non-action of many world powers including the UN, "Who will do it?" In some regards, it addresses a point Raif's wife, Ensaf, had to gracefully side-step in her VICE interview regarding Canada's trade relationship with Saudi, "Raif's cause has nothing to do with issues of political or economic exchanges between states, it is an exclusively humanitarian cause."

Ali gives an important answer as well,,,

That leaves the Nobel committee. At times, the Peace Prize has been given not just to recognize people's achievements, but also to pressure them to do better. Giving Raif the prize would do both. It would recognize the efforts of all those around the world who have been jailed or killed this year for intrepidly speaking out in places where it's needed the most. And it would also send a strong message to Saudi Arabia from the rest of the civilized world -- a message that neither the U.S., the U.N., or any other Western country has yet had the courage to properly convey. 

It really has been a notorious year for writers, cartoonists, bloggers, and journalists. They haven't just been censored, but imprisoned, publicly whipped, massacred in cold blood, and hacked to death with machetes. They need to know how much the rest of us value their contributions, sacrifices, and courage.

By going up against the Saudis' human rights abuses and free speech restrictions, Raif Badawi has done what even Barack Obama won't do. Yet, of the two, it is Obama who has a Nobel Peace Prize.
This year, the Nobel committee needs to change that.

Here's Why Blogger Raif Badawi Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize | Ali A. Rizvi

FYI::  I am "friends" with Ali on Facebook as well as having the opportunity to speak with he and his (now) wife Alishba on Atheists on Air Beyond the Trailer Park Ep 16 Ali Rizvi and,,,

Millions of people rallied to the support of Raif Badawi – who will care for a poor young man in Mauritania? - Comment - Voices - The Independent

I will admit, I had to look it up.  I have never heard of the West African country of (Islamic Republic of) Mauritania.  According to what I could find, they still have slavery and are a major player in human trafficking. The current government is hugely corrupt, with rampant misogyny (female genital mutilation was only recently outlawed) and child labor.  Sounds like a bad place to be anything but Islamic, let alone a writer who criticized the ‘prophet’ Mohammed.

Know just that little bit make the following plea from the pen of Ensaf Haider, wife of imprisoned blogger, Raif Badawi, all the more poignant.

During December 2013, a young Mauritanian blogger called Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir wrote a blog where he defended the rights of his people in Mauritania, who are used and exploited based on their history when they were slaves.

In the article he referred to the double standards used by the prophet Muhammad himself when he dealt with the Jews and the Arabs. He said that the prophet killed the Jews but forgave the Arabs because they are his blood. In his blog, he tried to show how religion plays a role in the social hierarchy and discrimination between social classes.

Some people in Mauritania took to the streets demonstrating against the article, shouting “death to the blogger”. It was considered a blasphemy towards the prophet, because it showed the prophet as an unjust person who preferred his tribe over others.

The authorities arrested Mohamed Cheikh on 2 January 2014 and he appeared in court in December, which sentenced him to death on the same day. Before the announcement of the sentence, he pronounced the Shahada and made clear that he was a Muslim, explaining that his intention was not to criticise the Prophet. He also apologised for what he wrote.

Millions of people rallied to the support of Raif Badawi – who will care for a poor young man in Mauritania? - Comment - Voices - The Independent

10 Years in Jail & 1,000 Lashes: In Conversation with Ensaf Haidar - YouTube

As I am fairly certain I am "preachin' to the choir" in regards to those of you who visit Havoc and Chaos, it is still a good to reminder as to who Raif Badawi is and why he sits in a Saudi jail.**

In 2013, ",,,a court in Saudi Arabia handed down a shocking sentence to a young man named Raif Badawi: seven years in prison and 600 lashes. Badawi's crime,"Founding a website, Liberal Saudi Network, that was dedicated to fostering debate on religion and politics; and calling on his country to respect freedom of religion, belief, and expression, and women's rights. According to the Saudi court, Badawi, 30, was guilty of "insulting Islam."

As CFI noted, citing Amnesty International, "Badawi's sentence was overturned by an appeals court, and his case was sent for review to Jeddah's Criminal Court."  BUT, in May of 2014 CFI reported, ",,,we have received bad news: the Criminal Court has sentenced Badawi to ten years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a one million riyal fine (USD $266,631)."

In September of 2014, CFI as well as others reported that Raif's sentence was upheld. Meaning, "Badawi's sentence is final, and that Saudi officials could begin to impose lashes on Badawi within several weeks. According to the final decision, Badawi will receive 50 lashes per session, with a break of no less than a week between sessions. The lashings will be carried out in public after Friday prayers in front of al-Jafali mosque in Jeddah."

As of now, 11:51 AM (EDT) 8/28/2015,Raif has only received one round of lashes.  But it is Friday and fear remains.  Which all of the preceding brings me to this, Ensaf Haider, the wife of Raif Badawi.

I have no words to described what is contained in this video other than devotion, courage and strength.  It is those same qualities that make this video all the more incredible as Ensaf can't answer a couple of questions regarding Saudi Arabia out of fear that it might jeopardize Raif's fate.  It is all the more amazing that Ensaf continues to travel and share Raif's plight, most recently The Non Conference held in Kitchener, Ontario (August 21-22).  Although I was not able to attend, my partner in crime was.** 

My take away from VICE's interview, besides needing a tissue and awe at this amazing woman, Ensaf's thoughts concerning the apparent hypocrisy of the Canadian government [7:50 mark] - Raif's imprisonment and punishment yet maintaining a important trade relationship with Saudi:  "Raif's cause has nothing to do with issues of political or economic exchanges between states, it is an exclusively humanitarian cause."  That to me is grace under pressure.

10 Years in Jail & 1,000 Lashes: In Conversation with Ensaf Haidar - YouTube

**Please note that in regards to Raif's plight I am a "noob", hence the mini history lesson. As I have stated before, the debauchery surrounding Islam for some reason never "interested" me.  My bias of "it doesn't affect me" clouded the humanist in me to the point of total ignorance.  That changed as I "met" new people, specifically my friend and fellow host of Beyond the Trailer Park, Deborah McTaggart, who has a keen interest in Islam and all its atrocities.

Over the course of the past 2 months, BTTP has been graced by the presence (directly and indirectly) of many ex-Muslims affected by the horrible ideology espoused by various Islamic regimes.  It was through talking with these individuals that I realized I can't ignore the human rights abuses any more.

As of this writing details are still being finalized to have Ensaf join us on BTTP.  Regretfully our first attempt fell through due to issues with translation.  Ensaf does not speak English and Deb's French suks (her words, not mine).  So hopefully in the near future I will be able to post my impressions and experience.

Raif Badawi: Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court reviewing case of jailed blogger - Middle East - World - The Independent

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court is again reviewing the case of jailed blogger Raif Badawi, raising the possibility that his draconian sentence may be reduced, his family has told The Independent.

Mr Badawi’s wife Ensaf Haidar said she had been informed of the development by a senior source in the Saudi Ministry of Justice. The blogger’s family said they were hopeful that the move by the kingdom’s highest court is a “good signal” that his sentence is under reconsideration.

Ms Haidar added that the news was “clouded with secrecy and ambiguity” and that she was still extremely worried for her husband’s welfare. “I do hope that it will be a beginning to correct the course of Raif’s case – I repeat, I am hoping,” she said.

“I cannot say that this is good news, just that I hope it is a good sign. I expect that the flogging could still happen at any time, especially as the court could confirm the verdict then return for more deliberation, and all of this is done in complete secrecy. We do not know even on what basis the court is making its decisions.”

Raif Badawi: Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court reviewing case of jailed blogger - Middle East - World - The Independent