Saudi Arabia Joins U.N. Human Rights Council

[skyward]

After Beheading 100 People This Year, Saudi Arabia Joins U.N. Human Rights Council With U.S. Support

Anon URL

Op Nimr: Anonymous targets Saudi websites as teen awaits crucifixion for ‘anti-govt activities’

Anon URL

Earlier in September, Nimr’s final appeal to the Saudi courts was dismissed, and his sentence of death by crucifixion for alleged anti-government activities in 2012 can now be carried out at any moment.

The hacktivist group called for Nimr’s release, adding that he had been denied a lawyer and subjected to torture. “Campaigners also claim he was forced to sign a confession, which has formed the basis of the case against him … Now, with all legal avenues exhausted, Ali could be crucified at any moment.”

The hypocrisy is simply stunning. How can the UN allow this and still hope to retain any shred of credibility or impartiality?

 

[regnomraw]

And the world implodes with irony. What the fuck is the point of the UN?

 

[gb2000ie]

I thought it was an Onion headline when I heard Saudi were on the HRC - you can't make this shit up!

B.

 

[gb2000ie]

And the world implodes with irony. What the fuck is the point of the UN?

Preventing world war 3. So far, so good.

Diplomacy is ridiculous, pathetic, insane, head-explodingly ironic, and everything else. But, it's better than shooting!

B.

 

[W!nston]

Saudi Arabia Protests Inclusion Of Gay Rights In UN Development Agenda

Saudi Arabia Protests Inclusion Of Gay Rights In UN Development Agenda
HuffingtonPost/AP | 09/27/2015 03:31 PM EDT

Saudi Arabia is protesting any references to homosexuality in a sweeping new agenda for global development, saying it runs "counter to Islamic law."

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told a U.N. summit of world leaders Sunday that "mentioning sex in the text, to us, means exactly male and female. Mentioning family means consisting of a married man and woman."

He asserted his country's right to not follow any rules that relate to any "deviations" from that belief as the world moves forward on the new development agenda.

The so-called Sustainable Development Goals include a target to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights by 2030. Some states like Saudi Arabia and the Vatican are concerned that references to "sexual rights" include rights for gay people.

SOURCE

When Saudi Arabia's oil becomes worthless because the use of alternative energy sources becomes greater than the use of oil the world will be a better place to live on so many levels

 

[voccu]

Joke of the year. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

I expect "Islamic State" to be next candidate for HRC.

 

[gb2000ie]

Using the HRC to campaign AGAINST human rights - now that's what I call a perversion!

B.

 

[skyward]

'Gay Parties' Raided In Saudi Arabia; Religious Police Arrest Several People On Suspicion Of Homosexuality
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I may get stoned to death for gay sex, says Saudi man outed in Ashley Madison leak
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Gay Saudi Arabian man sentenced to three years and 450 lashes for meeting men via Twitter
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The above is just a small sampling of the brutality occurring under the House of Saud.

The link below relates to ISIS -however since Saudi Arabia arms and funds ISIS, they must also be held to account as enablers for these crimes:

ISIS Executes Nine Men and a Boy for Being Gay
Anon URL

 

[skyward]

Saudi Arabian beheadings poised to double in 2015

Under King Salman's reign, someone is publicly executed every two days, including minors and the disabled

n the first six months of 2015, Saudi Arabia’s government executed more people—102—than all of 2014 combined. At its current trajectory, the nation's execution rate will be at its highest level in years.

Anon URL

 

[Stonecold]

It is sad what the west including the US has condoned for OIL and according to this still is.

 

[skyward]

131 civilians killed in alleged Saudi airstrike on Yemen wedding

Anon URL

Yemen has a population of over 25 million people. If Saudi Arabia is allowed to continue destroying it, millions and millions more may be displaced. Where will they go? How will they live?

Here is an article that appeared a few weeks after the war had been launched:

[T]he US and Britain are standing shoulder to shoulder with the Saudi intervention. Already providing “logistical and intelligence” support via a “joint planning cell”, the US this week announced it is stepping up weapons deliveries to the Saudis. Britain’s foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond, has promised to “support the Saudi operation in every way we can”.

The idea that the corrupt tyranny of Saudi Arabia, the sectarian heart of reaction in the Middle East since colonial times, and its fellow Gulf autocracies – backed by the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu – are going to bring stability, let alone freedom, to the people of Yemen is beyond fantasy. This is the state, after all, that crushed the popular uprising in Bahrain in 2011, that funded the overthrow of Egypt’s first elected president in 2013, and has sponsored takfiri jihadi movements for years with disastrous consequences.

For the Saudis, the war in Yemen is about enforcing their control of the Arabian peninsula and their leadership of the Sunni world in the face of Shia and Iranian resurgence. For the western powers that arm them to the hilt, it’s about money, and the pivotal role that Saudi Arabia plays in protecting their interests in the oil and gas El Dorado that is the Middle East.

Anon URL

 

[skyward]

There is a video on dailymotion of a man having his hand amputated in Saudi Arabia. I think 'amputated' is too polite a word as it implies surgery. They simply chopped it off, it took several blows taking approx 30 secs.

The poor man had his arm and hand pinned down by some kind of device so that there was no possibility of interrupting the act of barbarity. He seemed to be trying to look away as much as possible, but then you could see his body jerking back and forth at each blow and eventually, as the entire hand was held up to signal the act was complete, by one of the brutes, the victim simply passed out.

In some cases both hands are removed. Imagine what it would be like to go though the rest of your life with no hands. How do you open a door? How do you eat?

The fact of Saudi Arabia being elevated to the U.N. Human Rights Council is a scandal. It is completely wrong.

Everyone should email their politicians demanding action or do *something*. How can reply? There is simply no justification whatsoever. Anyone trying to defend it, or water down the significance, would simply appear insane. It is just so incredibly wrong. Where was the protest against this at the recent UN meeting in the US?

Another example of how Saudi Arabia is treated as somehow 'normal' is the growth in 'leisure tourism' -for example US citizens can actually go there and stay in plush hotels and see the sites. I don't know who would want to do that, very rich Westerners perhaps? Looking for sexual access to children? I have a feeling that among certain very wealthy classes, that sort of thing goes on.

But if you are a US citizen and want to holiday in Cuba, with its lovely people and wonderful healthcare system.. forget it.

How does all this startling hypocrisy go more or less unchallenged?

 

[skyward]

This is what happens when you make Saudi Arabia a leader of the UN human rights council

Leaked doents recently showed that Saudi Arabia struck a dodgy deal with the UK to obtain its seat on the United Nations’ 47-member human rights council (HRC).

But if Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the HRC—and its ambassador’s chairmanship of a key HRC panel—was lamented by global human rights defenders, its actual impact there has been downright scandalous. This week, Saudi Arabia reportedly pressured the council into dropping an inquiry it was planning to launch into human rights abuses in Yemen’s ongoing civil war...


Anon URL

Saudi Arabia sinks UN war crimes probe in Yemen, Washington stays silent

The Saudis allegedly won their place at the council through a secret deal with the British government, according to the cables exposed by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

The US helps its Arab ally Saudi Arabia in the Yemen bombing campaign with logistics and targeting. America is also the biggest provider of weapons for Saudi’s armed forces.

Anon URL

 

[bigsal]

This is what happens when you make Saudi Arabia a leader of the UN human rights council

Leaked doents recently showed that Saudi Arabia struck a dodgy deal with the UK to obtain its seat on the United Nations’ 47-member human rights council (HRC).

But if Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the HRC—and its ambassador’s chairmanship of a key HRC panel—was lamented by global human rights defenders, its actual impact there has been downright scandalous. This week, Saudi Arabia reportedly pressured the council into dropping an inquiry it was planning to launch into human rights abuses in Yemen’s ongoing civil war...


Anon URL

Saudi Arabia sinks UN war crimes probe in Yemen, Washington stays silent

The Saudis allegedly won their place at the council through a secret deal with the British government, according to the cables exposed by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

The US helps its Arab ally Saudi Arabia in the Yemen bombing campaign with logistics and targeting. America is also the biggest provider of weapons for Saudi’s armed forces.

Anon URL

No wonder, the US and Saudi Arabia are very close friends.

Still it remains the mystery of why, despite all the components of the massacres of the twin towers were Saudis, were invaded and bombed Iraq and Afghanistan.

Maybe in forty or fifty years, we will know the truth.

 

[gb2000ie]

No wonder, the US and Saudi Arabia are very close friends.

Still it remains the mystery of why, despite all the components of the massacres of the twin towers were Saudis, were invaded and bombed Iraq and Afghanistan.

Maybe in forty or fifty years, we will know the truth.

No need to wait - OIL!

B.

 

[skyward]

Campaign cone of silence descends on Saudi Arabia arms deal
Oct 01, 2015

The revenant Bloc Quebecois leader, Gilles Duceppe, who has suddenly taken a great interest in anything pertaining to radical Islam, kicked things off during the French-language leaders' debate last Thursday.

"As we combat ISIS," he asked Stephen Harper, "We must realize that its ideology was financed and promoted by Saudi Arabia, and we are sending billions worth of arms to Saudi Arabia.

"Would it not be sensible to say that's enough, we're stopping arms sales to Saudi Arabia? Wouldn't that be logical, given our fight with ISIS?"

Harper, a man who has portrayed his government's foreign policy as more principled and less susceptible to the power of the almighty dollar than other governments, basically replied that there's a lot of money at stake and thousands of jobs in London, Ont.

The contract to export $15 billion worth of armoured vehicles to the Saudis, he noted, is the largest in Canadian history.

Cancelling it would only punish Canadian workers, he said, and besides, the contract is "support for an ally." [...]

By the next day, the subject was a hot candidate for campaign issue-hood. Journalists were pursuing it with Harper.

For a brief, fascinating moment, it looked like we might actually be having a real national discussion about Canada's embrace of a bellicose, misogynistic, medieval theocracy that has a nasty habit of shoving cash into the pockets of those Stephen Harper would call "jihadi terrorists." [...]

Something else: As Duceppe correctly pointed out, the objective difference between our allies, the Saudis, and ISIS is blurred.

Despite now being part of the anti-ISIS coalition, the Saudis have provided extensive support to the group in the past, and have funded extremist madrassas (schools) and mosques worldwide over the years. [...]

By some estimates, the Saudis actually outdo ISIS. They behead for imagined apostasy and for general criticism, but also for sorcery and a list of other offences. And after beheading, the Saudis sometimes crucify the body.

They're scheduled to do just that in the days to come with Mohammed al Nimr, 21, who was arrested four years ago for advocating on behalf of Shia rights. [...]

So. Why did Canada's arms sales die so quickly as a campaign issue? It wasn't even raised in the foreign policy debate a week later.

Well, our main party leaders really don't want to talk about it. Justin Trudeau simply evaded the question during the French debate. [...]

After all, former U.S. president George W. Bush was photographed holding hands in public with the late Saudi king Abdullah in 2005, and Barack Obama appeared to bow before him four years later.

The Saudis were even just awarded a prominent position on the UN Human Rights Council.

Anon URL

 

[W!nston]

In the days after the 9/11 attacks all civilian air traffic was grounded. The investigation into the attacks was supposedly the most intense in FBI history. The identities of the alleged attackers was uncovered within hours of the attacks. They were all known to the FBI, CIA, NSA and all the other intelligence agencies that the public hears little about. Their connections to the Saudis was well known.

During those first no-fly days and investigations none of the Saudi nationals were detained, interrogated, travel restricted or in any way questioned. They were all allowed to board their jets and leave the country without as much as a question.

So when you speak of the Bush family it makes me nauseous. To me they are a bunch of traitorous villains. All of them. Babs too.

I don't trust any politicians. They are all crooks or they would not be allowed to serve in any elected capacity. They would never even make it to be sworn in.

Saudi Arabia still controls the White House and Congress. I wouldn't be surprised if they have most of the Judiciary in their pocket too.

This corruption is not limited to America. It's a universal problem.

We need the French to take over and run a good old fashion house-cleaning of the aristocracy and politicians. They know how it's done.

Of course I'm not serious about that. But when I think about politicians my blood boils.

 

[skyward]

Britain urged to stop providing weapons to Saudi Arabia

Britain is being urged to halt the supply of weapons to its ally Saudi Arabia in the light of evidence that civilians are being killed in Saudi-led attacks on rebel forces in Yemen...

According to the UN, the Yemen conflict has killed about 5,000 people and wounded 25,000, among them many civilians...

The call to the UK is made because it is a major supplier of weapons to Saudi Arabia, including a recent consignment of 500lb Paveway IV bombs, used by Tornado and Typhoon fighter jets, which are manufactured and supplied by the UK arms company BAE Systems...

The US is also a major arms supplier to Saudi Arabia.

Anon URL

Saudi Arabia Continues Hiring Spree of American Lobbyists, Public Relations Experts

In September alone, foreign lobbying disclosure doents show the Saudi government signing deals with PR powerhouse Edelman and lobbying leviathan the Podesta Group, according to recent disclosures.

Edelman, the largest privately owned public relations agency in the world, is known for helping clients win favorable media coverage on mainstream outlets. The Podesta Group is a lobbying firm founded by Tony Podesta, a major fundraiser for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

The new signings are the latest in a year-long hiring spree by the Persian Gulf state as it further builds up its already formidable political arsenal inside the Beltway...

Saudi Arabia’s political operation already includes former Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who chairs one of the largest Republican Super PACs in the country, as well as the public relations firm MSLGROUP/Qorvis, and Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company that funds several influential American political groups, including the American Petroleum Institute. Aramco’s U.S. subsidiary, Saudi Refining, is a registered agent of the Saudi government. The government also finances a number of think tanks and universities, and has made contributions to prominent American nonprofits, including the Clinton Foundation...

The Saudi regime is currently facing yet another public relations crisis as the Kingdom moves to execute Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, the young son of a government critic...

The nation also faces international outcry over the widespread killing of civilians in Yemen. Since March, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition that includes the U.S., U.K., Egypt and several Persian Gulf nations to support the Yemeni government in its war against the Houthi rebels. The Saudi-led coalition has repeatedly attacked schools, hospitals, and other civilian targets, including recent reports of a wedding party that was bombed, killing over 100 people.

Last week, I spoke to a number of lawmakers about Saudi human rights abuses, but found them extremely reluctant to criticize the Kingdom. Disclosures reveal that the lobbying firms that have worked for Saudi Arabia for years communicate frequently with senior members of Congress...

Anon URL

 

[skyward]

@ggreenwald
Saudis give big, new contract to key Clinton insider: brother of her campaign Chair, big donor himself


Hillary moneyman highlights new Saudi connection

The Saudi government, under increasing criticism over civilian casualties from its airstrikes in Yemen and a harsh crackdown on political dissidents at home, has just hired a powerhouse Washington, D.C., lobbying firm headed by a top Hillary Clinton fundraiser — an arrangement that critics charge raises fresh questions about the influence that foreign government lobbyists could have on her campaign...

“They are very nervous about an American policy change, and so they are betting on the horse they think will win — Hillary Clinton,” said Ali Al-Ahmad, a Saudi analyst with the Institute for Gulf Affairs, and a frequent critic of the regime, about the hiring of the Podesta Group...

But the retention of the Podesta Group has gotten attention in Washington lobbying circles because of its unusually close ties to Hillary Clinton’s campaign: Tony Podesta is the brother and former business partner of Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta. He is also a prolific Democratic Party fundraiser who is among 43 Washington lobbyists (many of whom also represent foreign governments) listed as Clinton campaign bundlers in reports filed by the campaign with the Federal Election Commission...

The Saudis have longstanding ties to the Clintons: The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the largest donors to the Clinton Foundation, contributing between $10 million and $25 million, according to the foundation’s website...

Bill Clinton has also received hefty fees for speeches in Saudi Arabia, including $600,000 for two talks while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state...

Anon URL

 

[skyward]

BBC Protects UK's Close Ally, Saudi Arabia, With Incredibly Dishonest and Biased Editing

The BBC loves to boast about how “objective” and “neutral” it is. But a recent article, which it was forced to change, illustrates the lengths to which the British state-funded media outlet will go to protect one of the UK Government’s closest allies, Saudi Arabia, which also happens to be one of its largest arms purchasers (just this morning, the Saudi Ambassador to the UK threatened in an Op-Ed that any further criticism of the Riyadh regime by Jeremy Corbyn could jeopardize the multi-layered UK/Saudi alliance)...

...So originally, the BBC stated that the “Saudi official” announced that the regime was arming the Army of Conquest. Once it was brought to the BBC’s attention that the Army of Conquest includes the Al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front – a direct contradiction of the Saudi official’s other claim that the Saudis are not arming Nusra – the BBC literally changed the Saudi official’s own statement, whitewashed it, to eliminate his admission that they were arming “Army of Conquest.” Instead, the BBC now states that the Saudis are arming “the Free Syrian Army and other small rebel groups.” The BBC simply deleted the key admission that the Saudis are arming al-Qaeda...

As Vaz told The Intercept:

This is an incredible whitewashing effort! Before they were directly quoting the Saudi official, and he explicitly referred to “three rebel alliances”, including “Jaish al-Fatah” [Army of Conquest]. There is no way a journalist was told “other small rebel groups” and understood what was written before. In their reply to my complaint they said the mistake was an “editorial oversight”, which is truly laughable. What we saw was a prestigious western media outlet surrendering the floor to an anonymous official from the most medieval of regimes, the official pretty much saying that they were going to supply (more) weapons to an al-Qaeda affiliate, and instead of pointing this out, the BBC chose to blur the picture and cover the terrorist-arming/funding activities of the Saudis/Qataris/Turkish.

...But what this does highlight is just how ludicrous – how beyond parody – the 14-year-old “War on Terror” has become, how little it has to do with its original ostensible justification. The regime with the greatest plausible proximity to the 9/11 attack – Saudi Arabia – is the closest U.S. ally in the region next to Israel. The country that had absolutely nothing to do with that attack, and which is at least as threatened as the U.S. by the religious ideology that spurred it – Iran – is the U.S.’s greatest “War on Terror” adversary. Now we have a virtual admission from the Saudis that they are arming a group that centrally includes Al Qaeda, while the U.S. itself has at least indirectly done the same (just as was true in Libya). And we’re actually at the point where western media outlets are vehemently denouncing Russia for bombing Al Qaeda elements, which those outlets are manipulatively referring to as “non-ISIS groups.”

...It’s not a stretch to say that the faction that provides the greatest material support to Al Qaeda at this point is the U.S. and its closest allies. That is true even as Al Qaeda continues to be paraded around as the prime need for the ongoing war.

But whatever one’s views are on Syria, it’s telling indeed to watch the BBC desperately protect Saudi officials, not only by granting them anonymity to spout official propaganda, but worse, by using blatant editing games to whitewash the Saudis’ own damaging admissions, ones the BBC unwittingly published. There are many adjectives one can apply to the BBC’s behavior here: “objective” and “neutral” are most assuredly not among them.

Anon URL