Equality and Legality in the Iranian Death Penalty

On stumbling through the web, i discovered an article in the Jerusalem Post concerning Iranian executions. Apparently, a Basiji member (a kind of militia that is in theory alligned to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards) gave a telephone interview to a Jerusalem Post journalist in which he described that because it is illegal under ‘Islamic Law’ to execute girls if they are virgins, many girls are raped before execution.

Now, i am not saying this is a lie, but at the same time i am not saying this is true. But i would like to add that this article comes under the banner ‘Iranian Threat’ on the Jerusalem Post website.

Propaganda can work in many ways.

If, however, there are accounts/reports from more reliable sources, then please let me know.

However, the more alarming point here, and one that is true, is that there are currently 142 juvenille offenders on death row in Iran. So far in 2009 around 3 have been executed. I suppose this is the equality in the death penalty… even kids get killed.

Far-right groups target press

Here is a recent article from the National Union of Journalists which can be viewed here.

Death threats for journalists covering far right demos

Tough and urgent action is needed in response to violence, intimidation and death threats targeting journalists covering far right demonstrations. The call by NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear comes in the wake of specific email threats against photojournalist and investigative reporter Marc Vallée, and video journalist Jason N. Parkinson. The emails follow verbal threats and intimidation aimed at photographers covering a march by the English Defence League in Leeds at the weekend and other EDL protests this year. Professional journalists covering the events have filed reports with the NUJ detailing physical violence, including one being punched in the head, verbal threats, and attempts to seize cameras and smash equipment. The union is to file complaints to the police. Jeremy Dear said: “In a week when yet more photographers have been targeted by right-wing hate website Redwatch, when out on the streets professional photographers are subjected to violence and intimidation by right-wing thugs, there must be tough and urgent action in response to these latest death threats. “These are not idle threats made by kids – these are direct, named threats made by individuals who can be traced – in one case an individual already convicted of stabbing someone. They are designed to silence the media and stop photographers showing the true nature of the protests and protestors. The police must act now before a journalist is killed or seriously injured”. Jason N. Parkinson said: “It is ironic the English Defence League claim they are protesting ‘peacefully’ against Muslim extremism. Then late Saturday night, after returning from covering the Leeds protest, I receive a threatening email from one of their Welsh and English division organisers entitled ‘Fatwa’. “This is exactly the behaviour and tactics of extremism the EDL claim they are against. Someone should remind the EDL that the fundamental root of all democratic society, including in the UK, is press freedom. Intimidation, violence, Fatwas and death threats are not.” Marc Vallée said: “I find it intriguing that only four weeks after attending a BNP press conference – at London’s City Hall – I’m targeted by Redwatch in this way. We should be free to go about our lawful and necessary work without such intimidation. I’m determined that when journalists are targeted in this way the only effective response is a collective one as well as journalistic one.”

I have to admit i walked past some obvious members of the EDL the other day and whilst i did so i covered my badges on my bag in case they worked out my political allegiances. It was later pointed out to me that they probably can not read what my badges say anyway!

It maybe holywood but this is the speech of a true leader.

My favourite human right

There is one human right granted under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that people remember; freedom of speech, (or more specifically, Article 19, Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and express; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers).

This freedom is flouted time and time again, whether it be freedom to criticise religion, freedom to express any political opinion or freedom to write what you want in print among others.

Recently, there have been flickers of a debate into whether freedom of speech is held above other human rights, and whether this is actually to the detriment of these rights. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/apr/22/freedom-of-speech-human-rights The idea here is that if freedom of speech is put above any other human right, then human rights abusers can be let off, but only as long as we are allowed to moan about it.

I wish to add my own two pennies to this debate. I think freedom of speech is becoming too much the face as the human right, so much so people are misunderstanding what they believe is their God given right.

Let me throw this out there for debate; if it was not for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, what is there that should guarantee international human rights?

The UDHM is over and over again used by people to defend their human rights, and quite rightly so. But does this mean they understand the declaration?

Let me introduce to you my favourite human right; Article 30 Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms ser forth herein.

Let me put that in context. A facist saying that we should kick people of a certain race out of this country, even if they were born here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/24/bnp-black-asian-britons) would usually be defended by airing their views through ‘freedom of speech’. Well yes, take that one human right and they can be. But it does not work like that, there are another 29 rights, so now apply article 30, and this statement would breach articles 13, 14 and 15 rights of the groups this facist is attacking. S0, article 16 i.e. freedom of speech, does not count in this circumstance.

This could also apply to religion. Remember those pictures of Mohammed in some western newspapers. Well article 16 would definetly defend this, but, in steps article 30 and BOOM you are now breaching article 18. (Well open to debate).

The point i am trying to make is that to preach your human rights and the human rights of others, you really ought to know and understand them first.

But i feel i should clarify my own ideological positions on the two scenarios i raised.

The first concerning the facist(s), i am split, not between what they are saying is right or wrong; no, i firmly disagree with what they are preaching; but instead by how to deal with this situation. On the one hand i hold dearly the point i made about understanding human rights, but on the other, allowing these views to be aired, then offering the actual facts and a rebuttal would intellectually destroy the facists argument. So instead of pushing their ideas underground and making yourself look like a hypocrite you allow them to preach. However, perhaps instead of allowing them to preach the ‘kicking out’ you allow them to preach the issue of immigration, then allow a debate to commence- if they move towards saying ‘we’ll kick them out’  it is then in breach of human rights and they don’t have a human right to stand behind- then you could ban them from preaching.

The second point about western newspapers reprinting pictures of Mohammed. I am also split. We should not be afraid to upset people and we should be able to print these pictures, but, this should be done with regard to respect. We should respect that other people have these religious beliefs (but not respect when these beliefs are enforced upon others). This shouldn’t however stop criticism of religion.

There is a lot more debate that needs to be taken over human rights, about their place in society and what should be done when these rights are abused, but in my opinion, a greater understanding of these rights is fundamental for people to understand their place in the world and how much freedom they, and others, should have. That is why i am now calling for the preaching of article 30 whenever you encounter a facist trying to hide behind article 16. So go now minions, preach, preach!

So, i made some lolz

If you know the internet, you’ll know lolcatz and its other such variations. Well, i made some of my own. Obviously they are a bit more political compared to pictures and captions of cats trying to eat cheeseburgers.

Using porn to trap the nation

It has been found that Jacqui Smith has attempted to claim expenses on a tv/internet package that included her husband’s renting of two porn films. Now it is shocking that she (and other MP’s) are able to claim expenses for their tv and internet (what do they spend their wages on?). However think about it. We as tax payers have now all paid for a guy to watch porn. We have all paid for a guy to most likely wack off. And this is only one person that we have discovered. There are hundreds of MP’s claiming expenses. How many of these have we paid to wack one out?

Forward two thought processes…

In the battle against prostitution they have made it a crime to curb crawl, meaning those who pay for sex are the guilty ones (i am not going into a debate about paying for sex and who if anyone is in the right or wrong). SO, my illogical train of thought has linked the crime of paying for sex and us tax payers paying for people to wack off (or watch porn). They arguably are the same. Therefore! Mr Smith has now made criminals of the whole nation.

This nicely fits into Jacqui Smith’s crusade against freedom. (I see her as the female reincarnation of Stalin, a member of a ’socialist’ Party- HAHA- who is paranoid to the extent where she needs to keep an eye on everyone). This is a woman who is pushing for the raising of detention without charge, pushing ID cards, loving the increase in databases keeping all our intimate details and if she had her way – oh shit, she does- would probably ask each one of us to write down where we were and what we where doing each hour each day (like the drugs authorities would like to do to footballers- coercion?- perhaps a near future New Labour policy?) These authortaian policies, along with CCTV, criminalises each one of us. Instead of the great British virtue of innocent until proven guilty, we are now in fact guilty until we can prove ourselves innocent, and even then you probably did something else so they still need to keep an eye on you.

Link back to how a guy wacking off on taxpayers money has made us all curb crawlers and therefore breaking the law… we are all guilty. And now how can we ever prove our innocence? We may not have done anything else in our lifetimes to break the law, but when push comes to shove, we have partook in some form of prostitution in this country, and that according to this Government would make us a criminal. That’s why they need to keep such a close eye on us.

Disclaimer: before commenting, please look up the word satire.

Reading Amnesty International ‘Adopt’ Two Prisoners of Conscience

By Me! From: http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/ Specifically: http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/blogs_entry.asp?eid=2792

Reading Amnesty International (RAI) have continued their work to help those unjustly imprisoned by ‘adopting’ two West Papuan prisoners of conscience.

Defined by Amnesty International, a prisoner of conscience is a person who has been imprisoned because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality or political ideology, and who do not promote or partake in violence.

The West Papuans RAI have adopted, Yusak Pakage and Filep Karma, were arrested in 2004 for raising the Morning Star flag, the West Papuan flag of independence.

Although Pakage and Karma were arrested in 2004 for this offence, it was not until 2008 that a Presidential Decree declared it a crime to show a regional flag of independence in Indonesia, with which subsequent arrests have followed.

On 19 July 2008, 46 people were arrested by Indonesian police at a Morning Star Flag raising ceremony in what Paula Makabory from the Institute for Papuan Advocacy and Human Rights has described as “peaceful” and which was “not an act which could over throw the Government”. These flag raisers where apparently set upon by the local police who started ““beating them, kicking them with boots and torturing the demonstrators. The men in the group were then stripped to their underwear” (http://intercontinentalcry.org/46-arrested-for-raising-west-papua-independance-flag/)

Yusak Pakage and Filep Karma attended a peaceful protest on 1 December 2004 where the Morning Star flag was raised. Filep Karma, a civil servant, was arrested at the site. The arrest of Yusak Pakage followed later that day when a small group of protestors went to the police station to argue for Filep Karma’s release.

Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 15 years and 10 years imprisonment in May 2005.

Although RAI will not made any official comment about whether West Papua should be independent, RAI do express sincere concerns about the suppression of Yusak Pakage and Filep Karma’s freedom of expression and peaceful protest, guaranteed to them by international declarations such as the International Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

RAI also express their distress at reports that have come out of Indonesia of the inhumane treatment that these prisoners of conscience have experienced while locked away.

Reports have surfaced that Yusak Pakage along with five other political prisoners have been subjected to beatings, one such beating resulting in Pakage’s eyelid being torn.

Reports that have also suggested that these prisoners have been starved for days on end, locked in confined and darkened rooms and have been subjected to humiliations by being forced to remove all their clothes.

Regardless of the opinions as to whether West Papua should be independent, RAI know that the treatment of these prisoners of conscience is in complete violation of their human rights.

RAI will keep up to date with the status of Pakage and Karma and will work to ensure the knowledge of these abuses are kept within the public domain. Dr Sean O’Leary from RAI has commented that “we are asked why we write letters on behalf of people like Filep and Yusak. The Indonesian government wants us to forget about them – they want to be able to put such ‘troublemakers’ in prison and out of sight.  It is up to us to keep the spotlight on them, to publicize their plight, so that the World knows what is really happening in a ‘civilized’ country like Indonesia and everywhere else where such injustice occurs.”

Dr O’Leary went on to say that “If we do not stand up for other people’s freedom of speech when we can do so, how can we say that we ourselves deserve it?”

A day in the life of a voluntary local media officer

From http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/ (http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/blogs_entry.asp?eid=2771) Written by, me!

I had one old hectic day on Friday 6 March while I was at work.

I won’t admit on here that I actually spent a good proportion of my work morning working hard for my local Reading Amnesty Group. I didn’t admit it, did I?

Anyway, late on Thursday 5 March I adapted a recent letter I received as part of the media officer’s email list about the map of gaps (http://www.mapofgaps.org/) and services in local areas dedicated to supporting women who are victims of abuse. I then proceeded to send this out as a press release to all the media contacts I have in my local area; newspapers, radio etc. I thought nothing more once I clicked send and rested my little head on my pillow for a night of slumber.

I hadn’t a chance before work to check my emails, oh boy, I wish I had…

My normal routine is that when I get to work, I log onto my computer (takes about 10 minutes!) and while it is logging on I make myself the first of about 20 cups of tea I have each day and then log onto my email account on my phone (I have a huge phone bill as they don’t let me on facebook/hotmail at work). There I found an email from one of my local radio stations, 2ten fm. I won’t write out the email on here, but the gist was, we want an interview!

Ahhhhhh! Panic!

I panicked not because of the prospect of an interview- in fact my vanity obviously craves such attention (tongue in cheek). But firstly, I was at work, and secondly (and more importantly) I shamefully admit that my knowledge of services in Reading for women who have suffered abuse is rather limited, in fact, it is limited to what I put on the press release!

After scrambling around for a few minutes trying to organise my work load for the day I thought of my next plan of attack- should I try and cram in some research from the internet before my big interview? No, too risky, my managers sit behind me. Should I just tell them I am rubbish and can’t do the interview? No, getting the message out is the important thing, it doesn’t necessarily matter how it comes out. Or should I ring up fellow RAI group members and get support? Yes! Perfect!

Then it dawned on me…. I don’t have our Stop Violence Against Women campaign co-ordinator’s number, and furthermore, she works at a school, being able to contact her was hard enough, let alone organise for her to do an interview!

The phone rings *ring ring, ring ring*, I answer….. “Hello I’m XXX ringing from the Reading 107 fm news desk it is about your recent press release…. we would like an interview”

What! Two interviews!

I really needed to get in touch with our SVAW co-ordinator; what to do, what to do! Then it dawned. Alex!! I’ll ring our chairperson, I admit his is the only number I had in the group (yeap, and I’m the group’s media officer!).

I could feel my manager’s eyes burning into the back of my head as I made my third phone call of the morning where I talked about violence against women (something which is in no way a laughing matter, but as an outsider expecting me to be doing my work must had sounded unusual).

Alex was free! He said he’d make some phone calls and see what he can do. Brilliant!

*ring ring, ring ring*

My phone goes again… unknown number

“Hello?….Hi, it’s XXX from BBC Radio Berkshire….”

They wanted me to send the PR again, all they could see was the title and they were very interested in reading what it said….. Hmmm, slight problem; I sent it from my hotmail address, and that is blocked at work.

Second by second crept by until it hit me, my phone! I hate to think of my next phone bill…. I logged onto my email and managed to find my message and forwarded it to my work email (not that I am doing any of this while I am meant to be working…).

My phone stopped ringing for the time being, but now came the messages to my work email. I hope our IS department were not snooping in… I used the words violence and abuse quite a bit, let’s hope they don’t pop up in my work’s filters!

I still had the problem of these two interviews and the possible third interview.

Words and phrases that these radio station’s news desks had used on the phone to me included ‘important’, ‘big news’, ‘a lot of interest’, ‘most listeners’ and ‘major local interest story’. Nice.

*ring ring, ring ring*

It was Alex with some amazing news. He had been in touch with Heather from Amnesty UK who works on the SVAW campaign who has agreed that she would organise for the interviews to be done! Fantastic! This way we would have the best possible person being interviewed who knew what they were talking about!

I have been informed that 2ten fm and Reading 107 fm were planning on running this story on air today (9 March), but unfortunately a mixture of being at work and going straight from work to the local pool place meant I have not had a chance to listen to the broadcasts yet. Despite this, a quick click onto the Reading 107 fm website revealed this as the main story: http://www.reading107fm.com/female-victims-of-violence-need-more-support-446236

There are still 3 hours left of the day, with at least 4 news bulletins on each station, I wonder if they are still broadcasting the story…..?

If you want to have a nosey at the press release then you can see it here: http://www.box.net/shared/pvpco4d5ue

Orwell had a time machine and saw today and my number 9

When i read about this new Confidential Intelligence Unit (CIU) being set up (well it has been about since 1999 according to some sources) to spy on homegrown extremists, i got worried. Not because i am an extremist, as people who know me would say, i would never ever hurt anyone, which means i ain’t attacking no one. The reason i got worried is because part of it’s goal of spying on ‘radical’ left-wing and right-wing groups includes peace protestors… Let that sink in, PEACE protestors. How the hell does homegrown extremists and peace protestors get shoved in the same pot and become one and the same. [http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/secret-police-unit-set-up-to-spy-on-british-domestic-extremists/]

I reacon its just another political tool to destroy debate and soon allow New Labour, the Tories and maybe the Lib Dems to pull the covers over their shared bed and become one big party, i.e. the only party. First the CIU need to destory the smaller parties. Bye bye Greens and RESPECT, but i will not miss the BN… can’t finish it…

Anyway, back on track. It got me thinking about Orwell’s 1984 again, as most of New Labour’s and Jaqui Smith’s policies make me do. I thought, ‘well they could take our freedoms, but they surely can never steal our emotions, our feelings, our compassion, our LOVE’. Then, that same day, i saw this: [http://www.recentnews.co.uk/Kissing-ban-at-railway-station/17242]. They say it is not to be taken seriously, that it’s lighthearted and it is not a rule that is going to be strictly enforced. But then is that not the best way to bring about a policy that would be so unpopular if enforced that it would actually bring 30million plus people onto the streets? Don’t worry, i am not seriously saying this is another example of an Orwellian state etc etc. But, i would not be surprised if this sort of scheme is slowly launched at other railway stations, then at supermarkets, then on the streets, then at pubs… maybe one day we will each have CCTV in our homes making sure that we are not swapping slaiva out of fear that we may forget the time and forget to go to bed at 8:30pm.

Here’s my number 9 for my personal favourite albums released in 2008:

9. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

I said just before i told you my number 10 that my top 10 included bands that i feel should deserve more recognition, and are perhaps not well known. Well, that does not neccessarily apply for this band- the biggest band in my top 10.

There has been so much said of this album and band that i really do not think i need to say much more.

But i just want to say why i love this album so much. I have been really getting into the simple cultural things in life, such as films like Napoleon Dynamite and Juno, which are so easy to watch, really down to earth, and also the music that goes with those films as well, the single acoustic guitar, one chord one string at a time, simple lyrics that tell you things straight. This is what this album reminds me of.

Admittadely the lyrics are really intelligent, and they do not lead you down one emotional road, so you can take them to whatever meaning you want. Regardless, the music is so cheerful. It makes you happy. How can you not smile when you hear a song like Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa?

I really do not want to say much more about this album, but  that i have still met people who have not heard of this band, and when i tell them i am into Vampire Weekend i often get the response “oh, i didn’t realise you like that sort of music”. Quality.

Personal favourites on the album Oxford Comma and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Previous:

10 – The Magnetic Fields – Distortion

And Human Rights For All…

I love Shami.

There it is official, I know rumours have been going round for ages, but now it is official, I am in love with Shami Chakrabarti.

The reason for this I think I hear you ask?

Well, it all started in the not so distant past, 7 November 2008 to be exact.

There was a radio talk show that has now ceased to exist that talked rubbish about a whole manner of issues. On the fateful day in question, a local councillor was called a “Nazi” live on air for his views that smoking parents should not be allowed to adopt. The perpetrator of this jibe, a one Jon Gaunt, was subsequently sacked by the radio station, talkSPORT afew days later. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/11/jon-gaunt-talksport

Gaunt defended his comment by suggesting he meant to say “Health Nazi”- a completely different kind of Nazi to the one you can see in history books trying to trick people into looking up into the sky behind them.

It could be concluded by some that Britain is now a slightly better place without his poison infecting the airwaves (calling somebody a “Nazi” is quite tame compared to some of the trash that spouts from his mouth). However, it is in this part of the story that in steps our heroine, Shami Chakrabarti.

In the past Gaunt has labelled Chakrabarti the most dangerous woman in Britain, and referred to her on occassions as ’shamy’.

However, Chakrabarti has ripped apart Gaunt’s drawn battlelines and has jumped to the defence of the former radio host.

In a press release on 25 November 2008, Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty said:

“For present purposes, we make no comment on the substance of the childcare policy in question. However we must remind you that any court must read Mr Gaunt’s contract in the light of his right to free expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act. Whilst this is far from an absolute right (particularly in the context of broadcasting), to be meaningful it must extend to contentious as well as consensual speech and we find it hard to envisage how your actions could possibly constitute a proportionate and lawful response to the present facts.”

Commenting on Gaunt’s views towards Chakrabarti, who tacitly said on ‘Have I Got News For You’ that even John Prescott has human rights, Chakrabarti continues:

“From a personal point of view as someone who has been on the receiving end of Jon Gaunt’s blunt polemic in print and on the radio, I believe that the airwaves of a great democracy would be the poorer for his absence.” http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/henryporter/2008/nov/26/jon-gaunt-shami-chakrabarti-talksport

And right she is to defend Jon Gaunt! For although Gaunt should not be allowed to broadcast for his inciting of racial hatred, the sacking of Gaunt for calling somebody a “Nazi” (there was no mirror present) can be seen as a breach of his human rights- a declaration that Gaunt has a distaste for- and it shows to Gaunt and the rest of the British public that human rights are not things that apply just to immigrants, terrorists and murders as Gaun suggests, but to all of us regardless of skin colour, political ideology or where you were born.

To see the press release in full click here: http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/news-and-events/1-press-releases/2008/25-11-08-liberty-to-support-shock-jock-jon-gaunt.shtml