Off With Their Heads!

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded two more of its citizens and a Pakistani, continuing the strictest punishment under new King Salman.

[...]

According to an AFP tally, their executions bring to 16 the number of Saudis and foreigners put to death this year under the kingdom's strict version of Islamic sharia law.

Four have been executed since King Salman took office last Friday after the death of his predecessor Abdullah.

Under Abdullah, the number of executions jumped from 27 in 2010 to around 80 annually, with 87 last year.

The oil-rich Gulf Arab state faces constant international criticism over its human rights record, including the use of the death penalty.

  Yahoo

Notwithstanding the extravagant praise showered on Abdullah since his death?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Irony Rules

Barack Obama challenged India’s record on religious tolerance and women’s rights on Tuesday in a parting speech to students in Delhi that contrasted with the at-times saccharin feel of a state visit designed to highlight the closeness of the two countries.

Though careful to acknowledge inequality in the US, the president devoted a substantial part of his speech to a lecture on the importance of empowering women in society.

[...]

“Every daughter deserves the same chance as our sons,” he added. “And every woman should be able to go about her day – to walk the street, or ride the bus – and be safe and be treated with the respect and dignity that she deserves.”

[...]

“India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.”

  The Guardian

This, after praising Saudi Arabian king Abdullah.

“He took bold steps in advancing the Arab Peace Initiative, an endeavor that will outlive him as an enduring contribution to the search for peace in the region. At home, King Abdullah’s vision was dedicated to the education of his people and to greater engagement with the world.

[...]

”I always valued King Abdullah’s perspective and appreciated our genuine and warm friendship. “

  White House

The [Saudi Arabia] law introduced last April allows authorities to also persecute people who are non-believers, who are treated as enemies of the state.

The legislation considers a terrorist anyone who "calls for atheist thought in any form, or calls into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based."

[...]

[W]omen are still forced to cover in public, they must be accompanied by a male guardian and are banned from driving.

 IBTimes

What you say doesn't matter any more.  Only when and where you say it.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

I Thought They Were Joking!

Alas, they were not....

Apparently, up IS down; black IS white.

 

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=128034&source=GovDelivery#.VMY-wtJFTU4.twitter

Unbelievable.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Thousands of people are protesting at Saudi embassies around the world, following the case of activist blogger Raif Badawi, sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for advocating free speech on his blog.

[...]

Saudi Arabia has one of the worst human rights records in the world as the country routinely imprisons and executes dozens of people labelled as "enemies of the kingdom".

[...]

”Inmates are also tortured because the Saudi Arabian legal system is based on confessions. “

"The law allows people in power to crackdown on anyone," Sara Hashash, Middle East and North Africa press officer at Amnesty International, told IBTimes UK.

"The recent crackdown in the kingdom is targeting civil and political associations and human rights organisations."

[...]

The law introduced last April allows authorities to also persecute people who are non-believers, who are treated as enemies of the state.

The legislation considers a terrorist anyone who "calls for atheist thought in any form, or calls into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based."

[...]

[W]omen are still forced to cover in public, they must be accompanied by a male guardian and are banned from driving.

  IBTimes

And here is Billmon's proposed entry:

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A Diplomat in the Making

The King Is Dead, Long Live the King

Oil prices jumped in early Asian trading on Friday as news of the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah added to uncertainty in energy markets already facing some of the biggest shifts in decades.

Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world's top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in a statement carried by state television.

[...]

Oil prices have more than halved since peaking in June last year as soaring supplies clash with slowing demand.

Booming U.S. shale production has turned the United States from the world's biggest oil importer into the biggest producer, producing more than 9 million barrel per day.

To combat soaring output and falling prices, many oil exporters, such as Venezuela, wanted the 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut output in order to support prices and revenues.

Yet, led by Saudi Arabia, OPEC announced last November it was keeping output steady at 30 million barrels per day.

  Reuters

That an 80-year-old with health issues of his own—he reportedly suffers from dementia—is now taking over means Abdullah’s grandsons could soon be jostling over who should be the long term successor. In the meantime, Salman is expected to maintain the kingdom’s alliance with the United States.

  The Daily Beast

The new king has dementia? Great. Apparently, so does the kingdom.

U.S. crude prices rose about 1.5 percent immediately after the kingdom announced the news Thursday evening. [...] The kingdom reportedly delayed the announcement so that his date of death would fall on a Friday, the Muslim holy day of the week.

Just because they don’t announce it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

And, that’s not all that happened in the region on Thursday…

Earlier in the day, the Yemeni government was in shambles after the president and cabinet resigned in the face of pressure from the Houthis, backed by Iran. It is unclear who will lead Yemen; the Houthis said Thursday they will form a presidential council.

In single day, two of the United States’ most important partners in the region are gone. What follows next is unclear.

So, now we turn to the ever excellent Middle East expert Jeremy Scahill….

And up next...Jeremy on the latest in Yemen...

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.