Egypt at a Turning Point

Is this the point where Egypt's revolution turns into a disaster? Have the Egyptians just replaced one dictator with another? This time it could be worse with a religious dictatorship similar to Iran taking hold. Men in power always say these measures are temporary to protect the people but what happens is always the opposite. The people are oppressed, minorities persecuted and everyone lives in fear. Egypt is an important, pivotal country in the Arab world and for it to be consumed in a one man religious dictatorship is a disaster not just for Egyptians but also their neighbours. Pray to whatever god you have that this man will and can be stopped, otherwise the future dos not look good.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20488986

The office of Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi has said that the decree giving him sweeping new powers is temporary and not intended to concentrate power in his hands.

Mr Mursi was committed to finding "common ground" with other parties. He will meet senior judges on Monday.

The decree was intended to prevent democratically elected bodies from being undermined, the statement said.

Thursday's decree led to angry protests and a big stock market fall.

Clashes continued on Sunday, with police firing tear gas in the Tahrir Square area, and large demonstrations are planned by supporters and opponents of Mr Mursi on Tuesday.

On Saturday the Judges Club, which represents judges throughout the country, called for a nationwide strike in protest at the decree.

But top judicial body the Supreme Judicial Council appeared not to reject the decree outright, saying it should only apply to "sovereign matters", and urged judges to return to work.

Justice Minister Ahmed Mekky has begun efforts to mediate between the president and the judges.

The minister said he himself had some reservations about the president's decree, Reuters reported.

'Committed to engage'

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says Mr Mursi has begun efforts to reach a compromise after the strong opposition to his decree.

A statement by the presidency attempted to calm opposition concerns that he was becoming increasingly dictatorial in his leadership.

"The presidency reiterates the temporary nature of those measures, which are not intended to concentrate power, but to avoid ... attempts to undermine democratically elected bodies and preserve the impartiality of the judiciary," the statement said.

Mr Mursi said he was committed to engaging all political forces to reach common ground on the constitution.

Later local media reported that he would meet the Supreme Judicial Council on Monday to discuss the decree.

But several prominent opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed elBaradei, have said they will not engage in dialogue with the president until he rescinds the measure, known as the constitutional declaration.

According to President Mursi's decree, announced on Thursday, no authority can revoke presidential decisions.

There is also a bar on judges dissolving the assembly, which is drawing up a new constitution.

Mr Mursi sacked chief prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, who was first appointed by ex-President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Mahmoud's replacement, Talaat Ibrahim, has been given the job of re-examining all investigations into the deaths of protesters when Mr Mubarak was in power.

Indian Meat Eaters Commit Sex Crimes

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read this one. Deceiving impressionable children in lies such as this is disgusting. It's obviously to further someone's agenda and the expense of Indian kids getting a real education. Education should be about facts, enquiry, testing theories and allowing young minds to chew though the facts and decide for themselves. Not for brainwashing, pushing supernatural or dubious theories.  Messing with a child's education affects them for life and is one of humanities greatest crimes.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-20354669

India textbook says meat-eaters lie and commit sex crimes

Meat-eaters "easily cheat, lie, forget promises and commit sex crimes", according to a controversial school textbook available in India.Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

• McDonald's opens vegetarian venue

New Healthway, a book on hygiene and health aimed at 11 and 12 year-olds, is printed by one of India's leading publishers.

Academics have urged the government to exercise greater control.

But the authorities say schools should monitor content as they are responsible for the choice of textbooks.

"This is poisonous for children," Janaki Rajan of the Faculty of Education at Jamia Millia University in Delhi told the BBC.

"The government has the power to take action, but they are washing their hands of it," she said.

It is not known which Indian schools have bought the book for their students, but correspondents say what is worrying is that such a book is available to students.

"The strongest argument that meat is not essential food is the fact that the Creator of this Universe did not include meat in the original diet for Adam and Eve. He gave them fruits, nuts and vegetables," reads a chapter entitled Do We Need Flesh Food?

The chapter details the "benefits" of a vegetarian diet and goes on to list "some of the characteristics" found among non-vegetarians.

"They easily cheat, tell lies, forget promises, they are dishonest and tell bad words, steal, fight and turn to violence and commit sex crimes," it says.

The chapter, full of factual inaccuracies, refers to Eskimos (Inuit) as "lazy, sluggish and short-lived", because they live on "a diet largely of meat".

It adds: "The Arabs who helped in constructing the Suez Canal lived on wheat and dates and were superior to the beef-fed Englishmen engaged in the same work."

The publishers, S Chand, did not respond to the BBC's requests for a comment.

Human Rights Outrage in Saudi

An undercover reporter from the blog livingfreeinqatar discovered a disturbing sight this week when uncovering illegal Indian racing just outside Jeddah. Over three days he watched as thousands of Saudis and other gulf nationals, plus one Filipino and two Lebanese men with pointing shoes watched and gambled as 8 Indians per race chased a 20 Riyal note.

In what seemed to be a copy of greyhound racing popular in other counties of the world, 8 Indians chased round an oval dirt circuit to be the first to capture the 20 Riyal note, which tantalisingly always stayed just out of reach. Human Rights group, Self Congratulating White People of the 1st World Easing Their Consciouses United, while have a ridiculously long name made some salient points. 'This takes Saudi to a new all time low. If economic slavery was not enough they exploit these poor brown people for their own amusement. Not since my grandfather using a Sikh as a table in the last days of the Raj have I been so miffed'

However Mohamed Al Camellover was defining, 'no one forces them to come and they know the salary when we approach them in the slums of Mumbai swimming in their own filth. If they weren't happy they would still be eating their own shit, instead of being clapped and applauded. In fact we treat them better than our camels and I should know I'm a camel lover'

Ahemd Al Easyjob used an economic argument, 'while I was studying for me degree in the UK I feel in love with greyhound racing, the sights, the smells, the gambling....... Ah, back on subject. I was going to import greyhounds to Saudi but they are really expensive and they kept dying in the heat. We found the Indians much more hardy and they could race on just one byriani a day. I have my personal favourite, Ashraf the fast. Clever eh? We named it that because he is faster than the others. See what my 9 year degree in the UK gave me' When your brave reporter pointed out that degrees take a maximum of 4 years, Ahmed shouted I was anti nationalisation and told the police I said something bad about Mohamed.

As the US and Europe condemned the practise, Iran and China said they should not interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign country.

Obama, Really?

So it's four more years of Obama but what did he really achieve in the last four years? I would say not much. Forget the economy as he inherited the mess and not much he could do about that but what else has he done. Obamacare, what a disaster that is. The USA spends more as a percentage of GDP on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet healthcare is not free for all in fact it is still really expensive. I don't really believe that governments should get involved in individual citizens business but free education and free healthcare for all is a must to give each person the same chances in life. (What they do with that life is their business but at least they get the opportuntity)

The best thing I can say about Obama is he is not Mitt Romney. Are these really the two best candidates American can come up with? Apparently so but then again does it really matter. The machine behind the President does not change so how much influence can he really have.

New posts coming shortly

Again sorry a bit busy. Been wrestling a rabbit in a Russian bar and it has had me distracted. However, more posts coming very soon and if yourself would like to add something for posting, please email me and I always give credit for others work. Well accept for Hitler, Ariel Sharon and Brad Pitt......

A futile battle

Enforcing laws to protect a language and even denying students the right to choose a university education is futile and abusive. Yes give school children the opportunity to learn French at school, even have schools that teach in French but it's up to the parents to choose which school to send them to. It should not be dictated to by the State.

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Language in Canada

"O, Canada", now also in Tagalog, Mandarin and Hindi

EVER since the British victory on the Plains of Abraham in 1759, which led to New France becoming a colony of Britain, French-speakers in what is now the province of Quebec have fought to keep their language alive. Tough laws requiring the use of French in the workplace, in schools and on signs, enforced by a vigilant language police (Office québécois de la langue française), have kept French from being obliterated by the tide of English from the rest of Canada and the United States. However, a linguistic breakdown of Canadians published on October 24^th by Statistics Canada, a government agency, indicates there has been some erosion.

While the number of Canadians who said French was their mother tongue rose to just over 7m out of the total 33m, and those claiming they could conduct a conversation in French was up to almost 10m in 2011 compared with the 2006 census, both categories have declined slightly as a proportion of the population, in Canada overall and in Quebec. Those able to have a conversation in both English and French in what is officially a bilingual country now number 5.8m, or 17.5% of the population, a slight rise. But closer look at those figures shows that it was mainly a result of Quebeckers learning English rather than the other way round.

Statistics Canada says international immigration is having the strongest effect on what it politely calls “the evolution of French in Canada". Over the last 20 years, Canada has accepted an average of 235,000 immigrants a year, and more than 80% of them have neither French nor English as their mother tongue. About 5% of the total move to Quebec. They are mainly from countries where French is already spoken, such as Morocco, Algeria and Haiti. The good news for the language guardians in that province is that an increasing number of immigrants to Quebec report speaking French in combination with their mother tongue at home. But most immigrants move to provinces where English is overwhelmingly predominant, and that is the language they learn. While French is just about holding its own in Quebec, it is slipping elsewhere in Canada.

Bilingualism is growing at a healthy rate in Canada, and just not the French-English variety. Immigrants are mixing one of the 200 languages reported as a mother tongue in the census with English in the home. Tagalog was the fastest growing language in Canada between 2006 and 2011. It leapt an astounding 64% in the five-year period, a reflection of the Philippines’ status as the top source country of immigrants to Canada. The four fastest growing languages—Tagalog, Mandarin, Arabic and Hindi—all had growth rates of more than 40%. The immigrant languages losing ground—Greek, Polish and Italian—reflect the shift in immigration to Canada away from the former source countries in Europe to Asia. Canada's 60-odd aboriginal languages are now spoken by just over 200,000 people.

In a country where multiculturalism is seen as a virtue, the language revelations in the census were mostly noted as a positive sign. The exception was Quebec, where the Parti Québécois government, which supports the eventual separation of the province from the rest of Canada, is preparing to toughen its language laws with new legislation expected this week. The bill proposes to eliminate loopholes in the existing law used by parents to send their children to English-language schools, would bar students graduating from a French-language secondary school from attending an English-language college, and would extend a requirement that French be used in the workplace to cover more businesses. “French is losing ground,” said Pauline Marois, the Quebec premier. “We have to correct that situation.” The battle continues.

Fuwairit Friday Fury Scandal

This Friday at Fuwairit beach during the Eid Al Adha holidays as many as 16 people in Qatar were outraged at a scence of such scandal, this blog is very brave to even print it in full.

At Fuwairit beach two ladies, possibly of European descent were seen wearing bikinis while frollicking in the sea. This was done in the full view of many different nationalities but some were brave enough to turn a blind eye and ignore the decline in civilisation before their eyes.

Mohamed of Dafna spoke exclusively to livingfreeinqatar blog, 'I was driving my Landcruiser up and down the beach, narrowly missing some children playing when I spotted these two ladies in bikinis. So disgusted was I, I had to drive past 9 times staring straight at them hoping they would cover up. I even wheelspun my car several times on the beach to get their attention but they just kept moving farther out to sea.'

Ahmed of Al Rayan was equally condeming, 'I normally go to that beach to drive recklessly, shoot birds and smell women in Abyas. Never in my wildest dreams would I imagine such a scence in Qatar. I called 16 of my friends so they could see for themself the disgusting sight and after 5 hours when the ladies got in their car and drove home we knew it was safe to leave. Luckily I took 378 pictures to show my other friends who are on holiday in the south of France to see the disgrace.'

When the men were questioned by livinginfreeqatar's author that surely they have more important things to worry about in the world than this, such as thousands dying in Syria or the attacks on the Rhiyongi in Burma, both shared the same answer. 'How do you think the trouble in those countries started? Maybe the Jews but probably women wearing bikinis and then the whole of society falls apart.'

When you assidious author asked them why they have vacantioned 6 times this year already in Thailand both Mohamed and Ahmed said it was prayer time and time for them to go.

Assad Enters Arab Idol

Bashar Assad trying to repair his battered reputation has entered the auditions for this year's Arab Idol, with the rumour being that he will audition in Qatar as all theatres and microphones have been destroyed in Syria.

Assad via Skype gave an angry defence of his position to livinginqatarfree blog, 'The world has got it all wrong about me, I'm kind, gentle and I stroke fluffly bunnies. No one who has heard my version of Frank Sinatra's My Way have ever left the room without a tear in their eye. All these nasty rumours that the terrorists in Syria spread about me are all lies, the people love me and what to hear my beautiful voice once more. I told Gaddafi once if he could perform like the Prodigy doing a version of Smack My Bitch Up, the rebellion against him would have finished by lunchtime. However he choose to ignore my glorious words of advice and returned to playing World Of Warcraft.'

LivingfreeinQatar pressed him further asking what outfit would he wear and what would be his chosen song, Assad answer. 'The Beatles were all about peace and love but for me, Elvis was the man of true love. Even the 70s incarnation, overweight and silver jumpsuits the love just poured out of him like too many cheeseburgers. I will open up with Love Me Tender and finish with a rousing rendition of Suspicious Minds while removing my trousers and throwing them into the loving crowd. It's what I call my love embrace finish when I come with joy to the masses. This will show the true face of Assad and the love I have for all people'

Meanwhile it is understood that Qatar will fund all other Arab Idol contestants against Assad, providing them with a budget of 2 million dollars each for clothers, lighting, exotic dancers and shwarmas. A spokeman who did not wish to be named said, 'that'll fuck him, if he thinks he can come here while we are waging war in Syria against him and prance around like a homosexual he has another thing coming'

Qatar Accidently Buys France

Today the world stands stun as the Qatar Investment Authority accidently bought the whole of France. The Qatari Prime Minister, HH Sheik Hamad gave an emotional interview to LivingfreeinQatar blog.

'We had a clear strategy as regards to France, first we bought some small companies, then we wanted a football team so the nice Mr Sarzkozy suggest we buy Paris St Germain the team he supports. All that was going really well and then someone suggested over Shisha lets buy all the cheese in France. Why not I thought, I'm always partial to a little brie with my karak chai. Next thing I know we are handed the deeds to France itself, it turns out that the only thing of value left in France was the cheese and they had secured the national debt against their EU fancy cheese mountain.'

When asked what's was Qatar's plans with France and was there anything sinister behind this move, the PM responded.

'No, no, no. It's not something we wanted to do and we have no plans to change France at all. However we do have the problem of 80 million frenchmen. We call the British PM to see if he wanted them and he said no way, the German Chancellor also turned us down saying they tried that once but it didn't end well. I guess I will just have to get used to shrugging my shoulders and turning my nose up at the British. We might try and auction off the bits we do not want, but the market is depressed for Frenchmen, arrogrant French Women and phallic shaped bread so I guess we will have to hold on until the price is right'

After the complete takeover of France, Italy has put it's salami on the not for sale list, the Swiss their cuckoo clocks but the Spainish said they will sell themselves to whoever wants them as long as they don't expect them to have to take jobs.

As the world gets used to the new reality of Chanel designing the Thobes and Abayas of the GCC, the UN is asking which country is next?

Totally unenforceable and just wrong

Interesting story in the Peninisular about Qatar drafting a law making it an offence to insult religions and they want this to be taken up by the UN and into international law.

What a pointless waste of time for the following points

1. Who decides what religions are protected?
2. Who decides what an insult is?
3. Do atheists also classify for protection who may be insulted by religious references?
4. What are the punishments for having an opinion that is deemed an insult?
If god is all powerful and all knowing does he need protection?
5. Why do religions deserve special protection? Why not footballers supporters whose teams are insulted by opposing fans?
6. When being a believer in one religion contradicts the beliefs of another and is considered insulting which religm takes precedent?
7. How do you enforce such a stupid law, especially in countries where freedom of speech is considered a basic human right?
8. How do you safeguard the people against misuse? In history it has been shown that such laws have been used to target political opponents and crush dissent, this can be used in religious dictatorships such as Saudi and Iran to justify the imprisonment of undesirables.....

Qatar please wake up and do not pander to the violent, vocal minority who wish to take away. Individual freedoms. Freedom of worship is a basic human right, freedom to disagree on even matters of religion is also.

http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/latest-news/211304-qatar-to-draft-law-banning-insult-to-religions-minister-.html

Enemies of Women

I really didn't want to write about Pakistan again but this was too much to ignore. For someone to shoot a 14 year old girl who wanted to promote education for young girls is beyond despicable. Again it either comes down to misguided religious beliefs or is a power play. These evil men and they are nearly always men, know that education for women will free them and allow them to develop in society. Education is the greatest gift but they know it will lead to questioning of their religious dogma and eventually the rejecting of their ideas of rule. If that happens the game is over for them and they lose power.

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Ziauddin Yousafzai said doctors estimated 14-year-old Malala still had only a 50% chance of survival.

She was shot as she travelled home from school on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility and said Malala, who sprang to prominence for a blog describing life under extremist rule and for her campaign to get more girls into school, was guilty of preaching "secularism". A spokesman said they would try to kill her again if she survived.

Mr Yousafzai told The Daily Telegraph he was grateful for international support but said his daughter still needed the worldﾒs prayers.

"They should pray for her early recovery and support the army's campaign against Taliban. They should help us to rebuild the Taliban-damaged schools," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/9601934/Pray-for-my-daughter-says-father-of-schoolgirl-shot-by-Taliban.html

Does Israel want peace?

It is something that is often overlooked, much is talked about the plight of the Palestinians but do the Israeli's actually want a peace for themselves and a peaceful neighbour?

The evidence currently is that the Israeli government does not want peace in the region, in fact instability suits their aims. While Syria is in turmoil and Lebanon goes through its usual period of imploding and with eyes on the rest of the Arab Spring, Israel goes on building settlement on what is established in various peace processes as Palestinian land. Not only that they continue the blockade of the Gaza strip, ok some of the people that live there are not angels but starving them into submission will only backfire.

In fact another factor is also overlooked. The two pieces of Palestine would not really make a viable state in the two state solution proposed without being propped up with outside help.

The only viable solution for the Palestine’s and Israelis, if they truly want peace, is a one state solution. A new state for all and with religious freedom for all, a secular state if you will that defends the rights of those that see their most holy sites in that land. A new state of enough land mass to be viable and supported by both the Americans and the Gulf Arabs.

Apologies bit busy......

It's been quiet I know, currently traveling around the world, solving the Palestinian crisis, talking sense to the Pakistanis, (why kill your own Muslims and destroy your own property over some stupid video?!!?)' teaching the Americans where the 'rest of the world is', explaining to the Britishers that they don't run the world now and trying to get the Aussies off the booze. Not very hopeful about the last one or the Pakistanis to be honest.......

Normal service will resume next week, well unless a government minister of some country hasn't put a bounty on my head......

Ciao, sayanora compadres.

Anyone want to buy a flag?

With the protests across the world, some of them look really angry like someone just raped their mother, it seems the best business to be in is the making of American and Israeli flags with a nice side business in combustible effigies.

I understand why the Muslim community is offended but a quick search of the Internet will find pretty offensive stuff on every religion, culture, country, race and important figures. However I don't see the Japanese going crazy over the current fight with china or the Buddhists burning effigies or the flag of a country over a perceived slight to Buddha. I don't see people dying because someone says something offensive about black people. How many people have died so far in these latest protests? Is it worth it? I'm willing to be 99% of the people protesting have not even seen this vile video but feel insulted enough to protest on the orders of someone who says they should do it. I'm even seen a picture of a child who must be 3 or 4 holding a placate in the UK saying 'Behead all those that insult Mohammed' to me that is child abuse of the worst order. Teaching your kids it's ok to kill other people that don't share your beliefs.

Now I'm not against people protesting, that is a human right but for people to die around the world and for all this hate and vitriol to be directed at America is just plain wrong. Thankfully out of 2 billion Muslims it's only a small minority involved in this and like them it's better just to ignore idiots like this who produce material to provoke and enrage.

A Dangerous Precendent

To bow to the extremists is a new low in freedom of speech and historical investigation. Why be afraid of academic study and investigation? Why threaten murder because someone has a different opinion or view to you? It shows that you are the lowest form of humanity.

The man is a respected scholar and for his next piece of research choose an interesting subject.

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http://isohunt.com/torrents/?ihq=Islam+the+untold+story

Channel 4 cancels Islam documentary screening after presenter threatened

A screening of a controversial documentary on the history of Islam has been cancelled on security advice after its presenter was threatened.

Historian Tom Holland's Channel 4 film Islam: The Untold Story sparked more than 1,000 complaints when it was broadcast.

Holland was threatened online with a torrent of abusive messages on Twitter.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: "Having taken security advice, we have reluctantly cancelled a planned screening of the programme Islam: The Untold Story. We remain extremely proud of the film which is still available to view on 4oD."

The private screening was due to take place at the broadcaster's London headquarters on Thursday before an audience of historians and "opinion formers".

The documentary is due to be repeated late on Thursday night and can be viewed online.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9535854/Channel-4-cancels-Islam-documentary-screening-after-presenter-threatened.html

Jews and Muslims unite, but are they right?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19535090

An interesting story I have been following for sometime, now I am not going to argue the rights or wrongs of gential mutilation, however this brings two human rights into conflict and which one should prevail in this case?

Freedom of worship is a universal human right and should be respected but also the right of the individual to choose what they do with their own bodies. Obviously a child cannot make that decision and is it right for the parents to remove part of his body without his consent?

I'm myself have to say the right of the individual takes precedent in this case and this can be done without harming freedom of religion. If a man gets to the age of 16 he can then choose for himself whether he wants to be circumcised or not. However I see that the German government scared by the history of Germany will allow this practise to continue and deny babies and children their right to choose what to do with their bodies.

Man dies attempting to queue in Qatar

Malaysian expatriate Muhamad Mercian died this week in the popular City Center Mall after queuing at the prepared food counter in Careforre. Seeking to respect his fellow customers Muhamad formed a queue of one, waiting his turn to be served. As customers and servers ignored him, jumping to the front, he held his nerve and patience believing in the old fashioned principal of first come first served.

After queuing for a record 6 years, 4 months and 25 days he was found slumped against the counter clutching a 50 QR note. He had only popped out for a biryiani and some somsas for his family for an evening meal after only being in Qatar for 1 week. His family said they were proud of him not cutting in and being rude and discourteous to fellow customers but have warned others could befall the same fate if safe guards are not put in place to protect others.

A spokesman for Carrefore said in a statement, 'we are now reviewing procedures to prevent further events like this occurring in the future, however in defence of our staff it was difficult to serve him in the correct order. First 20 labourers came and stood really close to each other so we couldn't see him, then a Qatari man came in and said his wife was waiting in the car outside so demanded to be serve immediately. Then an Arab woman pushed him out of the way, saying that she needed chicken nuggets now or she would start screaming rape. After that our staff thought he was just interested in how we run our business and he was observing us. We thought he was a fan of our meat section, well when it's not being closed by the government.'

Taking Shame to a Whole New Level

Pakistan has its fair share of crazies, although I am sure most of the population are decent people, but when it comes to religion pakistan seems to be no.1 in lunatics. After watching Veena Malik reduced to tears by one Imam who called her appearance disgraceful on Indian Big Brother disgraceful to women and Pakistan, (although he admitted he had not seen it...) we have another Imam who tries to frame a 14 year old girl with autism with blasphemy. You really couldn't make this shit up

Notwithstanding that blasphemy is one of the most stupid laws in the world and only backward countries would think of implementing it. If god is all knowing, all seeing and all powerful, then surely he is big enough to defend himself and doesn't need a bunch of demented followers screaming blasphemy as menatally handicapped kids or using it to attack people they have a grudge with.

The good news he has been arrested, the bad news he is now being charged with blasphemy for burning a few bits of paper.  What  he should really be charged with is being a complete and utter dick and the parents of the girl should be allowed to give him a good beating.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19454739

The Unseen Disaster in North Africa

In Mali a tradegy is unfolding, but unlike Syria this does not make the front pages of international news. The people are norther Mali are now learning what is means to live in a religious dictatorship and to have their rights curtailed. Already the Islamic fighters have destroyed centuries old shrines to saints accorded Unesco heritage status and it is also alleged stoned a couple do death for having relations outside of marriage. Who will help them against this tyranny?

Why cannot these people with strong religious beliefs find a place to worship in peace? Why do they have to impose it on other people who have not asked for their version of religion and in some cases pay with their lives for not following the true path? These people who impose religious laws on others are truly the evil amongst us.

Mali Islamists Take Strategic Town

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19454080

Religion and Politics Don't Mix

The most oppressive regimes in the world today as those driven by religion. A country and state is for all the residents that live within the border not just one religious class. A country can be defined not how it treats the majority by how it treats the minorities within its borders. A country by definition has to be secular but protect the rights of all individuals within it and that includes the right for people to practise their chosen faith.

The current worst offenders are Saudi Arabia and Iran, religious dictatorships that abuse the rights of citizens and residents in the name of religion. In Saudi the religious police sanctioned by the government to,enforce Islamic rules have been responsible for an increasing number of deaths of those they pursue. This is just wrong, a persons faith is between him and god and it is not for them to force their beliefs and behaviours on others.

Iran is another case. They discriminate against non Muslims in their society especially the Bahia and oppress others through denying women education at university in certain subjects and allowing under age marriage. By underage I mean below 12 years of age, but really it should be anything below 16.

Let's not forget the other places, Afghanistan under the Taliban was a brutal place. Oppression of women, beheadings and stonings. Even in the last few weeks the religious insurgents in Mali stoned a couple to death for being unwed.

Not not in the developing world is this a problem. In America politics is driven b religion in some instances and this is scary. Only this week Todd Akin running for the senate talked about 'legitimate rape' in his defence of anti abortion and pro life campaigns. Saying that women who were forceabily rape would not conceive as their bodies would stop it. Such shameful ignorance.

So let's keep religion out of politics, your religion or lack of is your own individual choice. The government is for all and should not be driven by writings in old books which often contradict themselves. Laws should be based on reason or logic, not some ancient scripture that is open to interpretation. Do you really think we should be still stoning people to death? Is this the mark of a civilised society?

Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022

Coming out in defence of Qatar to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Let's leave aside the allegations, none of which have been proven, and examine why Qatar and others deserve to host the World Cup. (I'll ignore FIFA as well which is riddled with corruption which even they agree with considering the number of resignations, suspension and lifetime bans handed out)

Qatar sits in a place that is uncomfortably hot in the summer when the WC is normally held as do a large number of other countries, so should that mean they are excluded from holding the WC forever? That sounds unfair to me. In nearly every country in the world football is the major sport and each country should get a chance to bid and host a WC with an equal chance.

Let's look at the benefits of a WC in Qatar.

1. The possibility of watching 3 matches live in one day. (never been done before)
2. They have the money to do it when most of the world is in recession
3. It will help,the development of the country and give it a purpose and direction

So I say let them have it. If you don't like the summer let them change it to winter or let them demonstrate the cooling technology but don't say they can never host it. That sounds like an exclusive club for hosting and football is the world game.

Most Overpaid & Overpromoted Expat in Qatar

Britsh waiter, John McDougall now of Doha, Qatar has just been awarded the Middle East's most overpaid and overpromoted expat award for 2012 by the Prestigious Dubai Management Excellence Chamber for Betterment.

John who previously in the UK was a waiter in the restuarant chain of Haram Halal foods of Bradford is now a GM of a large local conglomerate in Qatar specialising in precision engineering techologies. When approached by the Gulf-Penisular he stated 'I'm as shocked as you that my salary is 200,000 QR a month, plus a villa in west bay lagoon, but I couldn't turn it down. I only came out as manager of one of my sponsors resturants on the Pearl but he decided I was the man to run his engineering division. I put it down to the fact that I was the only one of his staff that spoke English he could understand.'

When asked how long he would stay he was quite defiant, 'go home? You must be joking, I now have 2,000 highly educated asian staff who do all the work for me as I can sip G&Ts round the pool with my new young Filipino wife. I found the position in life that was meant for me'

Mr Angry of Pakistan

This week we are following local Pakistani resident of Qatar Mustpha Wind back to his native Pakistani, where after 45 years in Doha things come as quite a shock to him.

Mustpha has always been an angry man but meeting long lost relatives he realised he was just an amateur, 'well my uncle Ahmed Wind gets angry about everything, first it was the British, then the Indians, then the west in general and now it's the Americans. He's at his happiest angriest when in the streets burning effigies. He particularly likes to be angry about Islam. If someone looks at the Koran in a way he finds a little bit off, he's beating his head and calling for a fatwa'

When asked would he stay in pakistan or head back to Doha, Mr Wind was certain, 'back toDoha for me. I just can't compete on the angriest stakes. I tried condemning my neighbour and shouting at his children for being 3 seconds late for Friday prayers but I just looked silly. The guy next to me out did me by being angry about being angry and he topped it off by cutting off his ear, screaming madly at a CNN camera and then setting himself on fire. How can you beat that?'

Out intrepid reporter now scared what would happen next decided to catch the next flight back to Qatar. His last memory was 2000 people on the runway screaming at the plane, saying flying was haram and they should all be stoned for being in the devils belly of a steel beast.

More shocking Govt Sanctioned Abuse in Iran

How could any sane individual allow children this young to get married? It's another form of child abuse officially allowed by the religious dictatorship that Iran is. A society is judged by how it treats it's children and in this and especially for girls Iran fails time and time again. When will the Iranian people get their chance for freedom from such a religious dictatorship? The last protests were ruthlessly put down to protect the Iranian elite scared of a Arab style spring uprising, but their time is coming and freedom for Iranians to choose how to live their life will be theirs to take.

Before anyone says this is a western newspapers conspiracy, the facts of pedophile marriage come from official Iranian govt sources.

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Alarm as hundreds of children under age of 10 married in Iran

The trend has prompted child protection experts to warn of a surge in mental illness, suicides, teenage runaways and girls turning to prostitution as the nuptials frequently end in divorce.

While both genders are affected, statistics from the state-run civil registration organisation show the phenomenon to be more prevalent among girls. Some families are said to be marrying off their daughters to older men to pay off debts.An Iranian NGO, the Society For Protecting The Rights of The Child, said 43,459 girls aged under 15 had married in 2009, compared with 33,383 three years previously. In 2010, 716 girls younger than 10 had wed, up from 449 the previous year, according to the organisation.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9500484/Alarm-as-hundreds-of-children-under-age-of-10-married-in-Iran.html

Arab Atheists and Qatar Living

Last week I posted a topic on Qatar Living that has been trending on Twitter. It is the One Million Arab Atheists campaign. A campaign rather like coming out for gays, except this is for Arabs who choose not to believe in God. You would think this would be their choice and no one would care. However in many Arab countries it is illegal to leave the Muslim faith on pain of death. They are also discriminated against and 'true believers' even called for them to be killed.

Qatar itself is on the whole a place of tolerance, where they have even allowed the building of churches for Christians in Doha. However on Qatarliving.com free speech is suppressed and by banning such a topic they indirectly support the religious intolerant and abusive, thus allowing themselves to be justified in spilling their hate for other religions and non believers. (As well as discriminating against women as well in the name of religion)

I believe people should be free to choose what they believe in without others calling for them to be killed and they should be able to say that out loud. Whether that is with their family, in the street or on the Internet. Censoring them is the same as saying they are wrong and they should stay hidden, thus supporting the bigots. Support the right form individuals to choose!


If you wish to view this campaign on twitter it goes by the hash tag of #OMAA

American finds Qatar on a Map

American expat Rudy Eagleburger after 5 years as a resident of Doha can now proudly point to Qatar on a world map and is not educated other Americans amazed at his feat of Geography.

Our poorly paid reporter from the Penis-Gulf Herald caught up with him at his highly guarded compound, 'When I first came to this country I used to just go from home to work and back and never left my office or my compound assuming it to be American soil, however after the first year here I realised that all the other road users were not muslim terrorists trying to kill the American, after the second year I discovered that kofta was a food not a biological weapon and now after 5 years I realised that Qatar is not part of Saudi Arabia. Gee I bet they even speak a different language to the terrorists in Saudi'

As Rudy chowed down on is 5th Big Mac and slurped his large diet coke he continued, 'When I first saw the McDonalds I was so happy but assumed it was food aid to these poor starving A-rabs. My heart swelled with pride as we were bringing civilisation to the barbarians. No longer did they have to eat vermin like lamb or biyriani. Not only that we gave them Diary Queen and KFC, a true gift from the American people.'

However his proudest moment was saved for last, when he produced a map of the world and said, 'This is Gutter, kinda like Utah but with less religion'

Rudy said that he had things to do but left us with this message for the people of Qatar, 'I love the guys here they are just so practical, who would have thought they are kind enough to cover up the ugly women's faces so they can go out in public and not upset people. That's mighty friendly like, but must mozie on down to the Qube as I hear the dames really like us Americans and what's not to like?'

Lebanese Man Lives Within His Salary in The Gulf

Lebanese Qatar resident Farid el Fatoush was last night ejected from the Lebanese in Qatar society for insulting Lebanese culture and traditions.

Farid decided and made public last night that he would spend no more than his monthly income each month and in fact would save some extra cash towards his future life in a Bierut suburb. Farid explained to our intrepid reporter of the Gulf-Penisular his new founds ways, 'Of course when I first move to the gulf I wanted it all. I took out a car loan for a sports car I couldn't afford to run, I order $200 bottles of champange at the most disrectful and tasteless nightclubs in town and had a girlfriend whose spending habits would make Imelda Marcos blush, but then one day I started to think about the future. Maybe this wouldn't last for ever, maybe at some point I would like to go home with some money in my pocket.'

After ditching the BMW Z4 and buying a Nissan Tiida, he ditched the girlfriend and now just drinks Stella purchase from QDC on a Thursday night we his new friends.

'Of course it was hard to start with as my Lebanese friends have disowned me, but now when I go to a bar I have my shirt buttoned all the way to the top and I no longer try to impress women with my outrageous spending habits, shiny pointy shoes and my indefensible boasting about my life. Now I hang out with people with realistic dreams and ideas and hope what waits me later is a comfortable retirment rather than hanging on for one last job in the Gulf'.

Other members of the Lebanese Society in Qatar are no so gracious, Ahmed of West Bay's most expensive apartment, (HE asked us to say that) said, 'I heard he went to the W hotel and his bar bill was under 400 QR for the whole night. Is he trying to shame us or what? If I don't get through at least 5,000 QR in a night, then I go home in shame. We have a reputation to maintain and we can't have people like him spoiling it for the rest of us. My girfriend takes 4 hours to put her make up on and get dressed when we go out and that is what I call a statement. I sleep with that what do you do'

Reports coming out of Beirut last night, made Farid favourite to be appointed Finance Minister for Lebanon despite strong lobbying.

Egyptians Vote to Elect Next Dictator

New Gulf-Penisluar Times reporter Maria St Leggins, (recently divorced and needing a new income) was dispatched to Cario to follow the first free elections in Egypt and garner opinion.

The first man she spoke to Karim el don'tharmme was in an estatic mood, 'This is a proud day for all Eygptians as we get a say in how our country is run for the first time. I myself are going to vote for one of Honsi Mubarak's men from the old regime. Being a dictator isn't easy and its a lifetime job so you need someone with experience. These newcomers just don't have the staying power. Yes, jobs were hard and the economy terrible but the humous was cheap and we were proud to see Honsi and his family in London, New York and Qatar dripping with money.'

Others though had different views, Mohamed Whattacha was voting for one of the Islamic candidates, 'when it comes to dictatorships these guys mean business. First thing they will do if they win is ban all other parties for being un-Islamic, hell they might even ban themselves for having independent thought. Yes life might be tough under Islamic rule but I for one are looking for to 40 years of religious persecution where I can inform on my neighbor for blashpemy.I don't really want a say in my own life as I will probably get it wrong, best to leave that thing to the experts.'

Maria caught up with one man who was looking even further back, Ahmed el labnah, 'Don't listen to these men, they don't know a real dictatorship when they see one. I want to vote for the British to come back. Now those guys knew how to run a country. Yes you could get imprisoned, yes they ran all the companies for their benefit, but look at the roads!, looks at the railways! and they were just so polite.'

One thing is for sure this will be a life changing election for the Egyptian people as they select their next dictator and as Maria St Leggins, (recently remarried to a hopeful presidential candidate), 'I feel so happy for these people and their new freedoms. I really hope my husband wins so I can visit the poor people in their homes to bring a little joy but I am especially looking to build a ridicoulsy huge shoe and easter egg collection.'

Non Keralite Indian hired in GCC!

In a remarkable piece of recruitment going against all the natural laws of hiring in the GCC a Non-Keralite Indian was hired by a man hailing from India.

Keralite Joseph Chapati was the hiring manager responsible for this feat and is now in hiding. Due to the backlash from friends, co-workers and family he has not left his villa for 4 days now.

Investigatory journalist from the Gulf-Penisular managed to get an interview through his toilet window,

'I never knew it would lead to this. I had 200 CVs of friends, family and other Keralites but I just don't know what came over me. I picked up a CV and judged it on his experience and skills. Then at the interview stage he demonstrated that he was a perfect fit for the vacany I had. Before I knew what was happening I sent an approval to HR and an offer was made. It was at this point I realised what I had done and every biriyani shop in Doha was now off limits to me'

On gauging reaction from the Keralite community it was clear that Joseph could not have commited a worse crime in their eyes.

Abdul of Muntaza says, 'who does he think he is? Kerala is empty as we all left there 50 years ago to move to the gulf and now he is saying he is too good for us? I heard the person he hired is from Tamil-Nadu and all I can say at least he is not a Gujrati'

Reaction from the Company's 99% Kerala workforce was even more severe. 'He might as well hired a Filipino. This person doesn't even speak the same language as us and has weird cultural traditions. I heard he even smears his buttocks in chilis' said one lady

However as of now no response from the man hired to fill the role as we have heard he is diligently getting on with his job.

Filipina denies existence of the Qube in Qatar

Young Maria St Leggins of Cebu denies ever visting the Qube or taking part in a karaoke competition during her 6 years in Qatar. When stopped by our non-stop investigator from the Gulf-Penisular Maria replied, 'it's true, I know you will not believe me but I've not entered that building. Until you mentioned it I never knew it existed. I'm 23 and I have better things to do with my time like write anonmous letters to be my employers complaining about the Indians in my office'

While we were speaking to Maria her husband Bill Bignuts, 73 of Indiana, USA approached 'Why are you talking to my wife and don't judge me with those eyes. We are different to all those others with large age gaps we have so much in common. errr.. you know like.... karaoke at the Qube, ... no I meant horizontal jogging...err, why don't you just go away I'm sleepy'

Our unstoppable reporter then showed Maria over 2,000 Facebook photos of her at the Qube during the last Battle of the Bands posing in a fluorscent top and a over the top breast job.

'please go away, ok, ok I went there once but that was just to meet a friend and my husband was asleep, in fact he is always asleep. If he finds out then my allowance will be cut by 20,000 QR a month and my Lacoste handbag will be donated to a labourer in the box appeal. I think he has only just 1 or 2 years left at best, so if I keep him partying hard at home I get to keep the money

Tailgating World Record in Qatar

Qatari citizen Abdulla Al Bumfuddle on the 8 May set a new Guiness World Record for tailgating on D Ring Road.

In fact what made this feat so remarkable it was actually two records in one. Abdulla managed to keep his Land Crusier at a distance of just 0.2 cm from the car in front, (a new world record) for a distance of 8km which is also a record. The judges was not only impressed by this feat of driving skill alone, it was the fact that he managed to do it, while flashing his headlights, texting his wife and smoking a cigarette.

When interviewed by the Gulf-Penisular Abdulla said, 'after the first 4 kms I was thinking of backing off to a safe meter but then I was worried the man in front would not see me and not get out of the way. I was in a hurry to get to my destination as I had a six hour shisha marathon to attend to. Luckly after the 8th km the traffic thinned and he moved over to the next lane so I could pass.'

When questioned did he think his driving was dangerous and maybe the car in front had no room to move Abdulla was sure,

'Even the man in front appreciated my actions. As I drove past him he gave me the one finger wave indicating I am the No.1 driver on the road and appreciating my skills. To get that from an American meant so much to me and I showed the salute to my wife when I got home. I really hope to meet him on the road again so we can go bumper to bumper in multicultural motor harmony.'

Welcome one and all

This is a place where no topic is off limits, there is no censorship here and no enforcement of rules or beliefs. This is for those that live in Qatar and the gulf to freely express themselves.

Try to be nice and if you can't be nice at least be intelligent in your arguments.

I will post topics  for discussion from time to time so come back often!

P.S. Qatar Living believes in censorship and suppression of free speech, to placate the intolerant and the oppressive.