First interesting item:
Justice in Saudi Arabia :
A very few days ago the representative
of the ailing King of Saudi Arabia marched with many European leaders along the Champs Elysee, condemning the brutal slaying of 12 persons in
the offices of the satirical news paper, „Charlie Hebdo“.
He was widely quoted as saying that
such cowardly terrorism, such "barbaric brutality" had nothing to do
with the faith of Islam and must be condemned by all reasonable
people.
A few days later, journalist,
cartoonist Raif Badawi, who had been condemned by the Appeals Court of Saudi Arabia to 10 years in jail, a
fine of 200,000.- Euros and 1000 (one thousand ) lashes with a
whip, was indeed whipped publicly in the square of the „Al Jafali
Mosque“, where on many Fridays public execution by beheading with a
sword are also carried out. Fifty strokes, the first installment of
this cruelty, are to be followed by 50 strokes each over the next 49
weeks in intervals of 8 days.
The assembled crowd, who had gathered
to view this display of medieval barbarity called out in unison with
each of the 50 strokes: „Allah akbar“ – God is great -
( I would venture to guess that, had
any one of the assembled been the recipient of 50 strokes with a
whip, he/she would hardly have praised the Lord and called him great
with every stroke tearing his/her back to shreds. )
The charges brought against Raif Badawi
are: Insulting the Religion of Islam and protesting against the
„rightful“ Authorities. (Quotes mine).
This is apparently the way in which
Saudi Arabia demonstrates its tolerance for the free expression of
varying opinions and its interpretation of the laws of Islam.
Second interesting item:
Listen through the key hole.
British Premier wants to listen in.
David Cameron now wants to establish a
far reaching listening post, to monitor the electronic world of
communications.
„If I remain the Premier“, he is
quoted, „I shall work for all inclusive legislation, which will
assure that terrorists will not be able to communicate freely.“
It is reasonable to assume that many
other countries will do so or have already done so to the extent of their ability.
We already know that the German Secret
Service had listened to a telephone conversation by the then USA
Foreign Secretary, Hillary Clinton, flying in an air craft, with the
Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in the head
office of the U.N.
Remember the uproar which reverberated
throughout Europe, when the listening activities of the U.S. National
Security Agency became public ?
What a lot of phony, dishonest
complaining was done then, when everybody else was doing it, but
probably not quite as well as the Americans.
These are the two items in today's News
Paper, which caught the attention of
Bertstravels.
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