Saudi Arabia Imprisons/Whips Blogger

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday July 31, 2013 · 7:43 AM PDT

2013/07/31 · 07:43

A Saudi Arabian court has just sentenced the editor of a progressive social media website to seven years in prison and 600 lashes. It says that the Internet forum he created, "Free Saudi Liberals," violates Islamic values and promotes liberal thought.

The government has held Raif Badawi since June of last year. It could have been worse: there were predictions that Badawi would be convicted of apostasy and perhaps executed.

This is, in a word, appalling. If this sort of thing happened in the United States, or Europe, or Israel, there would be an uproar. But it seems that when this kind of barbaric repression occurs in places like Saudi Arabia, people shrug their shoulders because we expect this sort of thing.

This is completely unacceptable from a country that ranks as one of our closest allies. As a progressive blogging community, we at DailyKos should be particularly outspoken in demanding that Badawi be freed -- and that Saudi Arabia end its repression of free speech.

http://www.reuters.com/...

Red Cross in NYC: Fail

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday November 04, 2012 · 8:41 AM PST

2012/11/04 · 08:41

New Yorkers really rallied in the face of the devastation of Sandy. Neighbors helped neighbors, businesses let bedraggled blackout refugees sit on their floors and plug their phones into electric outlets (two I saw were The Gap and Chase -- big thanks). Elected officials held regular press conferences giving advice and support.
The one group I didn't see at all -- and I am in one of the areas that lost power for 4 days -- was the Red Cross. I walked through a lot of the blacked out areas of Manhattan day after day and didn't see a sign of them. No food for people whose refrigerators were not working and who lacked stoves. No hot coffee for people who were shivering in homes that lacked heat. No lights for people walking pitch black and often scary side streets.
It turns out it wasn't only me. As the New York Times reports, there is a lot of anger across New York at the Red Cross's non-response. The borough president of Staten Island -- one of the worst-hit areas -- called the Red Cross's response an "absolute disgrace."
Apparently the Red Cross first set up and started serving meals on Saturday (and I have no idea how much of that is going on. That is an unconscionable delay when people lost power and were flooded out of their homes Monday night. And it's not like this was a disaster that came out of nowhere, like an earthquake. Disaster experts knew this storm would wreck terrible damage many days in advance.
Well, this morning I did see the first sign of the Red Cross in my recovering neighborhood: when I went to stock up on groceries, the Red Cross had signs set up at every checkout lane asking me and my neighbors to make a contribution to them.
I hope people will ask tough questions of the Red Cross in the days ahead. It looks like the way things are going, there will be more storms like this. The Red Cross is going to have to up its game.

Breaking: The Republican & The Boys' Shower

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday February 04, 2012 · 10:12 PM PST

2012/02/04 · 22:12

A Northern New Jersey Catholic High School administrator has resigned from his job after being accused of secretly filming male students in the shower for the past three years. He had been on unpaid leave since being arrested in December.

There were allegedly 22 victims, including 9 boys under the age of 16.

So what were his hobbies? Volunteer coach and "local and county politics, serving for a time as chairman of the Somerville Republican Committee."

Shocking, of course. Are these folks ever Democrats?

The Swift-Boating of Oprah

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 05, 2008 · 8:37 PM PDT

2008/09/05 · 20:37

The Drudge Report, as everyone knows by now, attacked Oprah Winfrey today for refusing to put Sarah Palin on her show before Election Day.

Drudge claimed, in an unsourced item, that Oprah's staff is "sharply divided" over the question -- although Oprah quickly issued a statement saying the report was "categorically untrue."

No great surprise -- this is simply what Drudge does.

What is truly disgraceful, though . . .

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday January 22, 2008 · 6:30 PM PST

2008/01/22 · 18:30

There's a lot of talk here that Obama did nothing wrong by voting "present" more than 100 times in Illinois -- that this is simply how things are done in the Land of Lincoln.

But there is a real issue here -- about Obama's willingness to take on the fights against the right wing that we need a president to take on.

Let's recall Obama's very troubling vote last fall in the U.S. Senate on the resolution to condemn Moveon.org.

Follow me after the flip

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 14, 2007 · 9:22 PM PST

2007/11/14 · 21:22

David Broder has decided, in his infinite wisdom, that one of Hillary's biggest problems in winning next year is Bill Clinton.
(Follow me over the flip)

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday October 23, 2007 · 5:44 PM PDT

2007/10/23 · 17:44

The Senate may vote as early as tomorrow on the nomination of Leslie Southwick to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Senate Democrats should show that it made a difference that they took over the majority by defeating this terrible judge. Sadly, it is not at all clear that they will.

(Join me after the jump)

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday April 24, 2007 · 8:37 PM PDT

2007/04/24 · 20:37

Syria has just sentenced Anwar al-Bunni, a leading human rights lawyer, to five years in prison. His crime: "spreading false information" that Syria practices torture.

(Follow me after the jump)

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday April 08, 2007 · 8:59 AM PDT

2007/04/08 · 08:59

Today on "Meet the Press," Tim Russert's roundtable guests for a long discussion of the Iraq War, Bush, the Republican primary, and the Democratic primary were:
David Gregory of NBC (fresh from his backup role for Karl Rove a/k/a "Rove MC")
Chuck Todd of NBC
Judy Woodruff of PBS
Kate O'Beirne of the National Review

This is not a balanced panel.
(More after the jump)

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday March 10, 2007 · 5:38 PM PST

2007/03/10 · 17:38

You think the right wing is upset about the Democrats' decision to boycott the Fox-sponsored presidential debate in Nevada?

The arch-conservative Las Vegas Review Journal has an editorial up now (linked to on Drudge!) squealing and squawking about it. The editorial describes someone--oh, that would be us here on DailyKos--as

But the socialist, Web-addicted wing of the Democratic Party was apoplectic. The prospect of having to watch Fox News to see their own candidates would have been torture in itself.

More after the jump . . .

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday February 07, 2007 · 9:27 PM PST

2007/02/07 · 21:27

There's a controversy unfolding in England right now about an Islamic school that admits that it uses textbooks that describe Jews as "apes" and Christians as "pigs." The principal, Dr Sumaya Alyusuf, is refusing to stop using the books.

The school is funded by the Saudi government.

Here's a link: link

This will not be the most subtle of diaries, because the gist of this situation is quite simple: this sort of "education" is unacceptable.

If the Saudis claim to be our allies, they need to stop funding schools that teach bigotry and that dehumanize non-Muslims.

The Muslim community should also speak out against "education" of this kind.

It makes it difficult to promote tolerance and peace if the next generation is having this kind of hate spewed at them.

I'd like to see Congress look into whether the Saudi government is in fact funding education of this kind--the Bush Administration is too close to the Saudis to be trusted on this.

Jail for Robocallers

absalom2

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday November 06, 2006 · 6:22 PM PST

2006/11/06 · 18:22

It's great that Rahm Emmanuel is talking about filing civil lawsuits against the GOP for its robocall dirty tricks.

But the Democrats should be LOUDLY talking about pursuing criminal charges.
[more after the flip] Read More

Newer
Older

RSS

Saudi Arabia Imprisons/Whips Blogger

Red Cross in NYC: Fail

Breaking: The Republican & The Boys' Shower

The Swift-Boating of Oprah

Obama's "Present" Problems

More Broder Idiocy

The Next Sellout By Senate Dems

Syria Sentences Human Rights Lawyer

Russert's Idea of Balance

Fox: Squealing Like Pigs

Bigotry in Islamic School

Jail for Robocallers