pianogonzology: saudi arabia

Showing posts with label saudi arabia. Show all posts

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Baby . . .

. . . steps. . .

Change is a process, not an event.
-Barbara Johnson (American literary critic and translator)

(https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21718871-women-are-fed-up-being-treated-children-some-saudi-women-are-secretly)
". . . Propelling the flight (out of Saudi Arabia) is the kingdom's wilaya, or guardianship, law. Although it has received less publicity than the world's only sex-specific driving ban, it imposes harsher curbs on female mobility. To travel, work or study abroad, receive hospital treatment or an ID card, or even leave prison once a sentence is served, women need the consent of a male wali, or guardian. From birth to death, they are handed from one wali to the next-father, husband and, if both of those die, the nearest male relative. Sometimes that might be a teenage son or brother, because although boys are treated as adults from puberty, women are treated as minors all their lives. . ."

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(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Friday, May 26, 2017

Quotes . . .

(https://www.axios.com/10-quotes-from-trumps-speech-to-muslim-world-2416540167.html)
1. "We are adopting a principled realism ... Our friends will never question our support, and our enemies will never doubt our determination. ... [W]herever possible, we will seek gradual reforms – not sudden intervention."

2. "Our goal is a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God."

3. "We are not here to lecture — we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship. Instead, we are here to offer partnership."

4. "Every time a terrorist murders an innocent person, and falsely invokes the name of God, it should be an insult to every person of faith."

5. "But we can only overcome this evil if the forces of good are united and strong — and if everyone in this room does their fair share and fulfills their part of the burden."

6. "Terrorism has spread across the world. But the path to peace begins right here, on this ancient soil, in this sacred land."

7. "America is prepared to stand with you ... But the nations of the Middle East cannot wait for American power to crush this enemy for them."

8. "This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it.This is a battle between good and evil."

9. "That means honestly confronting the crisis of Islamist extremism and the Islamist terror groups it inspires. And it means standing together against the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews, and the slaughter of Christians."

10. "Religious leaders must make this absolutely clear: Barbarism will deliver you no glory — piety to evil will bring you no dignity. If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief, and your soul will be condemned."

What do you think?
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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Behind . . .

. . . the facade . . . a 'friend' of the USA? . . .

(from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/17/for-wife-of-imprisoned-saudi-blogger-raif-badawi-its-a-life-of-waiting/)
". . . “It’s a life of waiting,” said Ensaf Haidar, whose husband, Raif Badawi, a blogger who has been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for almost four years. . . 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. . . Badawi . . . was sentenced in 2014 to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes, along with a fine of more than $250,000, for criticizing Saudi Arabia’s powerful religious and political leaders on his Saudi Liberal Network Web site. “He is just a blogger,” said Haidar . . . 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.” Badawi received the first 50 of his lashes in January in a public square outside a mosque in the port city of Jiddah. A video posted on YouTube showed him standing silently as a police officer struck his back and legs with a wooden cane and onlookers cheered “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great.” Saudi officials said the lashings would continue, 50 every Friday for the following 19 weeks. . . Saudi officials have told rights groups to back off. Some, including Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, the former longtime Saudi ambassador to the United States, have criticized “outside interference” by rights groups and the media in the Badawi case. . . "

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html or at
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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com

My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Blog . . .

. . . yourself silly. . .

. . . if you CAN . . .

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/saudi-arabia-could-resume-flogging-raif-badawi-human-rights-watch-n373541)“. . . Saudi Arabia could resume flogging an activist as early as Friday after the country's Supreme Court upheld its sentence of 1,000 lashings and 10 years in prison, according to a human-rights group. Raif Badawi, 31, was convicted in 2013 of setting up a liberal website that Saudi officials said insulted religious authorities in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom. The blogger's sentence was condemned by the United States, the United Nations and others. The State Department called it a "brutal punishment" and said Badawi had merely been "exercising his rights to freedom of expression and religion.". . . ”

The State Department seems to have overlooked the fact that in Saudi Arabia, no one has rights to freedom of expression and religion. Couldn't they (we) have said (done) MORE!!????

Friday, January 23, 2015

Royal . . .

(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_of_Saudi_Arabia)
". . . On 16 February 2003, Parade magazine's David Wallechinsky rated King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah as the second worst dictators in the world. Most of this criticism stems from the fact that most of Saudi citizens live under a strict Wahhabist interpretation of Sharia law, which mandates the amputation of hands as a punishment for theft and floggings for crimes like drunkenness. Execution by public beheading is common for murder, rape, drug trafficking and witchcraft, and Abdullah's policies towards the rights of women have also been criticized. In a slight rebuff to accusations of human rights violations, Saudi inmates of Najran Province sent the King well-wishes from jail and wished him a speedy recovery.

King Abdullah has also been criticized for his policies on religious freedom and the Saudi government allegedly has arrested Shiite pilgrims on the Hajj. On 24 January 2007, Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to King Abdullah asking him to cease religious persecution of the Ahmadi faith in Saudi Arabia. Two letters were sent in November 2006 and February 2007 asking him to remove the travel ban on critics of the Saudi government. Human Rights Watch has not yet indicated whether they have received any response to these letters.

On 30 October 2007, during a state visit to the United Kingdom, King Abdullah was accused by protesters of being a "murderer" and a "torturer". Concerns were raised in the UK about the treatment of women and homosexuals by the Saudi kingdom and over alleged bribes involving arms deals between Saudi Arabia and the UK. . ."

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html or at
http://www.ohomusic.com

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak. Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com

My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music will be released April 7, 2014 Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak